Best of Wyoming

FOR MORE THAN 50 YEARS, Grand Teton Music Festival has developed a reputation as one of the nation’s most important summer music festivals. Fresh off a spectacular 50th Anniversary Season in 2011, the Festival looks toward the future with exceptional programming and special guests including pianist Stephen Hough performing Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with guest conductor Mark Wigglesworth, percussionist Colin Currie in MacMillan’s Veni veni Emmanuel, violinist James Ehnes in Sibelius’ Violin Concerto and much more.

The Wild West Balloon Fest draws ballooners from all over the country for a unique festival and competition set in a breathtaking arena. Balloons launch at dawn from a grass covered city park. The public is most welcome to mingle with the pilots and crews-indeed volunteers are welcome to help the crew. The pilots can instruct you on the spot for a new experience and a grand adventure. This is a small, relaxed rally. Safe, conservative flying is their hallmark, fun is the goal.

The Cody Parks and Recreation Department is gearing up for another great summer of FREE live music in Cody’s downtown City Park. The Concerts in the Park expose residents and visitors to a diverse array of musical talent in an amazing outdoor venue—made even better last year with the addition of a new sound system!

Periodically, the Plains Indian Museum staff fields the question “What makes your powwow unique and special compared to other powwows?” Typically, the question is asked by those who have never attended this powwow. However, once they do, the answer unfolds before them. The Plains Indian Museum Powwow has been celebrated for 31 years each summer in Cody, Wyoming, and now attracts 300 dancers from all over the United States, nearly 5,000 visitors, and is the largest, longest running public program at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center.

Established in 1964, the Cody Country Art League is located in the original Buffalo Bill Museum.  The fine art gallery offers unique, original, and one-of-a-kind collectibles created by local artists. Paintings, jewelry, and bronzes are displayed within walking distance of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center.

WINTER HOURS
Monday – Friday
9:00 am – 5:00 pm

SUMMER HOURS
beginning June 2, 2012
Monday – Saturday
9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Sunday
10:00 am – 3:00 pm

Free admission

The Yellowstone Jazz Festival will be celebrating 25 years of presenting live jazz to audiences this July. The Alex Nauman Jazz Trio will start the event with a free performance from 6:00-8:00 pm in the Cody City Park. The “Jazz on the Lawn” outdoor jazz event will be held the next day at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center outdoor stage in Cody with a different set of music featured every 45 minutes from 5:00 to 10:00 PM. Audience members will be able to hear everything from big band jazz to contemporary smooth jazz or to hear a great jazz vocalist.

CODY, Wyo. – After six months and millions of dollars in major renovations, the Buffalo Bill Museum—one of five museums within the Buffalo Bill Historical Center located in Cody, Wyoming—will officially re-open just in time for the 2012 summer vacation season. And even as the final pieces are put into place, the venue is already receiving buzz as one of the country’s hottest new tourist attractions. The Center is a short drive from the east gate of Yellowstone National Park.

The Wyoming Wilderness Association (WWA) is a non-governmental, not-for-profit organization first created in 1979 by a group of wilderness advocates and outdoors people who envisioned the Wyoming Wilderness Act.  Headquartered in Sheridan, WWA has offices in Jackson, Dubois and Lander as well.

In 1984, the passage of the Wyoming Wilderness Act brought to all Americans the permanent protection of an additional 1.1 million acres of ecologically diverse, wild country.

The Big West Arts Festival celebrates its seventh year as a large cultural event at the Sheridan College campus in Sheridan, Wyoming.  Its site is nestled in the valley with the dramatic Big Horn Mountains to the west and the spacious, wide-open plains to the east.  Sheridan lies midway between the Black Hills of South Dakota and Yellowstone National Park.

Located in the shadow of the Bighorn Mountains, the Sheridan County Museum interprets a regional perspective on the history of the American West. The Museum’s exhibits investigate the culture, industry, communities, agriculture, and geography that shaped the region’s rich historic and cultural heritage. Throughout the Museum’s exhibit gallery, visitors have the opportunity to experience history through artifacts, historic photographs, maps, and interactive exhibits.

Sheridan College students have an exciting new opportunity to study sustainable food systems this fall.  This program and several new courses were developed by Connie Fisk, a new faculty member at Sheridan College.  The Sheridan College Ag Department programs fall into three categories: transfer programs that will prepare students to successfully pursue bachelor’s degrees, two-year applied degrees that prepare them for careers in agriculture, and certificates that can enhance any of the college’s degree programs or be used to provide a job-advantage in the agriculture and science fields.  V

Dubbed hang gliding “heaven,” the little town of Dayton, west of Sheridan, Wyo., and on the eastern edge of the Bighorn Mountains is home to some of the best thermals in the northern Rockies. The conditions here allow hang gliders to stay airborne longer and go higher.

The new Hang Glider Fly-In Festivals events are scheduled Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day weekend.

Photos provided by Sheridan, WY Travel and Tourism www.sheridanwyoming.org.

History

History of SAGE

The original Sheridan Artists’ Guild (SAG) was established over 30 years ago as a small organization for Sheridan area artists. This guild served mainly as a social venue for the members and was loosely organized. In 2003 the guild had dwindled to less than 20 members. In July, 2005 the guild reorganized and was renamed the Sheridan Artists’ Guild, et al (SAGE). The organization has also received federal non-profit status and has grown to over 150 members.

Mission / Vision

The City of Gillette created the Mayor's Art Council in 2003 to oversee and implement a program for the development and placement of public art within the Gillette community. Its mission is "to create a more visually pleasing environment and expand the opportunities for residents and visitors to experience quality works of art in public places."

Built by Eldorado Wall Company of Boulder, Colorado the tower has a circumference of 74 feet and a height of 42 feet, replicating Wyoming's famous Devil's Tower National Monument. The Climbing Tower is the focal point for the entrance of the Recreation Center Lobby. Climbers of all ages and skill levels enjoy top rope climbing, lead climbing, bouldering and the use of the Trueblue auto belay system. To date, over 3,500 individuals have climbed the tower at least once with over 400 individuals becoming belay certified.

In August, 2006, Gillette College began an annual summer tradition when they hosted the first Donkey Creek Concert. Held on the College lawn near the banks of Donkey Creek that first concert included only one band and an audience of about 50 people. By 2010 that single concert had grown into a two day festival featuring two full days of music. The music, food vendors, artist booths, and other activities are enjoyed by thousands over the weekend.

The Campbell County Rockpile Museum opened its doors to the public on July 21, 1974. Ralph A. Kintz was the driving force behind the establishment of the museum, purchasing the land where the famous rockpile sits and then donating this property to the county in 1970.

During the 2011-12 winter break 16 students and faculty from UW, Casper College and Laramie County Community College travelled to Ecuador to spend 8 days/7 nights touring by yacht the Galapagos Islands with author and Charles Darwin scholar Greg Estes. Days were spent hiking trails and snorkeling to observe the unique flora and fauna of these islands that are a natural laboratory for the study of Evolution. Following the Galapagos expedition the group spent 3 days hiking and birding in the Bellavista Cloud Forest Preserve in the Andes Mountains near Quito.