THE 17TH ANNUAL WILD WEST FEST -
JUNE 9-14, 2008
2008 Wild West Fest Schedule of Events
New this year to Wild West Fest - Even more activities for local families!
Bring the entire family to Wild West Fest 2008! Join us in Town Park for BBQ, games and prizes. Ride around Telluride in a real stagecoach. Meet the Yellow Bird Indian Troupe and learn crafts. Get posters and t-shirts with the 2008 Wild West Fest artwork! Plus, face painting by real artists!
In its seventeeth year, the SAF's Wild West Fest is a week-long celebration of Western arts, culture and customs which brings inner-city youth along with artists and musical performers from across the nation to Telluride, Colorado. The Wild West Fest is an exciting and much-anticipated event for our mountain community. An integral component of the Wild West Fest is the Chip Allen Mentorship Program (C.A.M.P). Created in conjunction with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Big Brothers, Big Sisters of America, C.A.M.P. brings inner-city youth to Telluride each year for a week of enriching educational experiences. The children work with established experts in the fields of Drama, Dance, Horses and Ranching, Trick Roping, Fly-Fishing, and Golf.
Approximately fifty students are chosen to attend the Wild West Fest by their clubs for their positive attitudes, good behavior, and responsibility to family, 
school, and community. The WWF C.A.M.P. focuses on each child's personal and individual needs to ensure a positive learning experience so that each participant returns home with a greater sense of self-confidence and personal awareness as well as a firm grasp on a new skill. Past participants have included groups from Atlanta, Boston, Denver, Farmington, Fort Pierce, Fort Worth, Houston, New York, and Phoenix.
In addition to C.A.M.P., the Wild West Fest also provides a number of cultural activities for the youth to attend throughout the week. These include live performances in music, dance, and theater, a ranch tour, horseback rides, cookouts, hikes, a visual art class, and outdoor "Wild West" thematic programs such as western storytelling and campfire sing-a-longs. Celebrities who have donated their time and talent to the children involved in the program include Mel Gibson, Tanya Tucker, Daryl Hannah, Christie Brinkley, Rodney Crowell, Ty Herndon, Larry Mahan and many more.
Help us help a child.
The Wild West Fest is a once in a lifetime opportunity for each and every one of our children, most of whom have never traveled out of their own home town. From its inception, it has been the Sheridan Arts Foundation's goal to make money a non-determining factor in their participation. The SAF, a 501 (C) 3 non-profit, has taken on the task of providing all lodging, meals, and transportation in and around Telluride, as well as admittance to each event free of charge to the youth throughout our week-long festival. In 2006, the WWF Mentorship Program Scholarship Awards provided by the Sheridan Arts Foundation totaled over $50,000. You too can make a difference in a child's life with a much needed donation to the SAF's Wild West Fest. Your generous contribution of $1,000 will allow one child to participate in the SAF's Wild West Fest in its entirety. As an expression of our gratitude, sponsors will receive 2 VIP tickets to each of the 2007 Wild West Fest events as well as a tax donation letter from the Sheridan Arts Foundation. Those interested in pledging their support for the Wild West Fest should contact Ronnie Palamar via phone at (970) 728-6363 or email at Ronnie@sheridanoperahouse.com. All proceeds benefit the Wild West Festival. Thank you for your consideration.
Here's what some of our past participants and current sponsors have to say...
Everyone in the whole town treated us like we were really important, and it felt good!"
Valerie, Farmington NM, age 14.
"I loved everything about our trip to Telluride. I will remember most the kindness that everyone showed me."
Heather, Denver, age 15.
"It was fun meeting kids from small towns and big towns, everyone got along so well with each other. I liked the Opera House, it was fun to be able to perform on the stage."
Brandon, Atlanta, age 13
"This place made me feel like a princess!"
Alta, Atlanta, age 10