Dust off your 10-gallon hat and polish up those boots because the 12th Annual 100 Mile House Cowboy Concert is just around the corner.
It comes to Martin Exeter Hall on Feb. 11 with a matinee show at 2 p.m. and an evening performance at 7 p.m.
The lineup of entertainers is brand spanking new to 100 Mile House and includes child performer Jayden Stafford and youth guitarist Dale McEachern, both from Fort St. John, storyteller Gord Colliar who comes from the Merritt area, and the musical duo, The Loose Rooster Band with Jim Karr and Dan Fremlin from the Kamloops area.
Mark McMillan, president of the BC Cowboy Heritage Society (BCCHS), which sponsors the show, says he’s seen all of the performers in action and he expects a great show.
Stafford is a 10-year-old cowboy poet who won the Rising Star Showcase award at the 2011 Kamloops Cowboy Concert, McMillan notes.
“He’s an incredibly good storyteller with rhythm and rhyme. He’s got the whole works and he’s very funny.”
McEachern is just 17 and was in the running for the Rising Star award with his talents in guitar playing, singing and playing the fiddle.
McMillan says fiddlers are far and few between and the BCCHS strives to encourage youth to perform in their events.
Colliar will bring his personal stories to the stage, backed up with experience as a roper for some of British Columbia’s larger ranches and years spent selling veterinary care products.
“He knows the life and the stories come out of that,” says McMillan.
Loose Rooster features Karr on guitar and Fremlin on the mandolin. Together, they produce some really nice cowboy tunes, McMillan adds.
Tickets for the concert are $17, and 280 are available for each show. Past history suggests the evening show will sell out soon after Christmas and the matinee will also be a sellout.
People can purchase tickets at 100 Mile Feed, Work and Play and at The Log House at 811 Alder Ave. People can also call McMillan to reserve at 1-888-925-2204.
Proceeds from the concert will be used for the BCCHS student scholarship.
