The Cowboy Announces Three Days of Western Fun for Memorial Day Weekend

Boley Rodeo Day and 35th Annual Chuck Wagon Festival

Boley Rodeo Day and the 35th Annual Chuck Wagon Festival, presented by Dogwood Foundation, bring rodeo history, chuck wagon cooking, live music, art, storytelling and family activities to the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum May 22-24.

The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum will host three days of family-friendly Western experiences Memorial Day weekend. The weekend begins Friday, May 22, with Boley Rodeo Day, a special one-day celebration of Black rodeo history and the legacy of the Boley Rodeo.

The celebration leads into the Museum’s signature Memorial Day weekend event, the 35th Annual Chuck Wagon Festival, presented by Dogwood Foundation, which returns Saturday, May 23, and Sunday, May 24.

Together, the events will offer a weekend full of art, history, live music, storytelling, food samples, demonstrations, family activities and interactive experiences celebrating the legacy of the American West.

Boley Rodeo Day

• Friday, May 22, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
• Free with Museum admission or membership

Boley Rodeo Day brings the spirit of Boley to The Cowboy with a full day celebrating Black rodeo history, art, music and storytelling. For one day only, Prosperity Junction will become Boley Main Street, bringing the story of one of Oklahoma’s most important Black towns to life inside the Museum’s turn-of-the-century Western town through historic imagery, self-guided stops, QR-code storytelling, artist displays and a photo exhibition featuring work by Garrett Augustus, Brian Edwards, Eyakem Gulilat, Leondre Lattimore, Jakian Parks, Nicol Ragland and Seth Stern.

Guests also will be among the first to view “Like Father, Like Son,” by photographer Seth Stern. Unveiled during Boley Rodeo Day in the Atherton Gallery, the work will become a permanent part of the Museum’s collection.

From 12:30 to 3 p.m., acclaimed Western artist Thomas Blackshear II will present a live painting demonstration in the Annie Oakley Center. Blackshear received the 2024 Ann Noble Brown Prix de West Purchase Award at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum for his oil painting, “A Much Needed Break,” placing his work in the Museum’s permanent collection.

The day also will include a roping demonstration with IPRA World Champion Danell Tipton and will close with a high-energy outdoor Cowboy Concert from Grammy Award-winning artist, singer, songwriter and producer Tony Williams.

Known professionally as The WRLDFMS Tony Williams, the Oklahoma City-born artist’s music bridges gospel, soul, R&B, hip-hop, funk and pop. He will perform with a five-piece brass band, two keyboards and a 30-member choir.

For more information, visit thecowboy.org/boley-rodeo-day.

Boley Rodeo Day Schedule

• 10 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. – Boley Main Street in Prosperity Junction
• 10:30 a.m. – Unveiling of “Like Father, Like Son” by Seth Stern, Atherton Gallery
• 12:30 to 3 p.m. – Painting Demonstration with Thomas Blackshear II, Annie Oakley Center
• 1 to 3:15 p.m. – Roping Demonstration with IPRA World Champion Danell Tipton, Arena/Gardens
• 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. – Cowboy Concert with Grammy Award-Winning Artist Tony Williams, Western States Plaza

The concert is made possible by the Oklahoma Arts Council in partnership with Project 2020 Foundation and the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.

35th Annual Chuck Wagon Festival

• Saturday, May 23, and Sunday, May 24, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
  
• $25 in advance, $30 at the door
• Free for Museum members and children under 12
  

The 35th Annual Chuck Wagon Festival will bring a full weekend of Western and Native American history, art and cuisine to the Museum. The festival will include seven chuck wagons, one Indigenous food station, 10 demonstrating artists, five interpreters and storytellers, three stages with 12 performances and 15 activity stations serving approximately 7,000 people during Memorial Day weekend.

Families can enjoy chuck wagon food samples, Indigenous food samples, crafts, music, artist demonstrations, storytelling, history interpreters and hands-on activities throughout the Museum grounds. Activities include bandana design, leather stamping, rope making, watercolors, archery, mural coloring and sarsaparilla samples. Guests can also treat themselves to snowcones, pony rides, and facepainting, for an additional charge.

Guests can also experience live demonstrations in sculpture, painting, basket weaving, leather working, quilting, pottery, beading and flint knapping. History interpreters will bring figures and stories of the West to life, including Stagecoach Mary, a Seminole trapper, a Buffalo Soldier and Bill Pickett.

John R. Erickson, author of the popular “Hank the Cowdog” children’s book series, will also appear Saturday, May 23, for talks and book signings.

For the full schedule and to purchase advance tickets, visit thecowboy.org/chuckwagon.