ANNUAL FOLKFEST SEPT. 15-16
Thermopolis - Recording artist "Buffalo Bill" Boycott will headline the Second Annual FolkFest at the Old West Wax Museum, September 15-16.

Boycott will present "The Wild Wild West," a program of music and stories, Friday eve. at 7 p.m. Boycott, who records under the Bear Paw Records label, plays banjo, fiddle, mandolin and guitar. He also tells stories in traditional Native American Indian sign language.

In conjunction with Wyoming Public Television, he produced "Wyoming History Through Song" in 1992 and "Along the Oregon Trail" in 1994. He has appeared in concert with such bands as Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Riders in the Sky and has performed at festivals, cowboy poetry gatherings and schools.

Tickets will be available at the door Friday evening, $4 for adults, $2 for children under 12.

An open house will be held Saturday, Sept. 16, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., to celebrate the museum's first year. The wax museum wing has recently added more than 30 new interpretive displays.

Informal demonstrations and activities will include cowboy poet Pete Davis, Riverton; musician Paul Beck, Red Lodge, Mont.; and woodworker Karl Kerston, Thermopolis.

Textile demonstrators include Marsha Hill, Worland, basket weaver; Audrey Philips, Thermopolis, knitter & needle artist; Glenna Tippets, Thermopolis, rug braider; and Kathy Hammond, soft doll maker.

Special demonstration-talks will be held throughout the day.

Audrey Philips will give a mini-talk on "How we invented clothes: An overview of textile arts" at 10 a.m. Philips earned a master knitters designation in England and is also a spinner and weaver.

Cowboy poet Pete Davis, Riverton, will give an informal program "Predicting the Weather" with original poetry and stories at 10:45 a.m. Davis is a retired educator and has performed at state parks, schools, family reunions, youth camps and county fairs throughout the region. He received Pride of Wyoming Awards in 1992 and 1996 for keeping alive old traditions and music.

Paul Beck, Red Lodge, Mont., is a new recording artist who blends bluegrass, folk and rock records in his first album, "Of the Forest." Beck will provide entertainment throughout the morning with a special set noon-1 p.m.

Special guest is Allan Maybee, Riverton, trail scout organizer and educator. His multi-media presentation, "Following the Mountain Man" will begin at 1:30 p.m.

In 1975, Maybee served as head trail scout for a 2200-mile-long crossing of the Oregon Trail on horseback. Three years later, he headed a 7th Cavalry trek along the 1,000 miles of the Santa Fe Trail. In 1985 National Geographic reported his 500-mile crossing of the Oregon-California Trail from Fort Laramie to Fort Bridger.

The presentation covers his longest trip, made in 1989. Maybee and a group of five crew members loaded a 27-foot-long voyager canoe with 100 pounds of beaver skins and made their way from Riverton to St. Louis. The voyage replicated a trip made by General William Ashley in 1825. The crew completed the 2700 miles in 72 days.

The canoe and equipment used on the trip is now part of a new permanent display at the museum that will be seen for the first time on Saturday.

Several crew members will also be at the dedication. The program will include time for questions and answers.

Events on Saturday are open to the public free of charge.

The program is supported in part by a grant from the Wyoming Arts Council, through funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Wyoming State Legislature. It is organized by Big Horn Basin Foundation and Dancing Bear Folk Center, located in the Old West Wax Museum.