Sisters Celebrates its History with Inaugural Ranch Event

The festival season in Sisters --always packed with entertaining cultural events -- launches this weekend with a new event that sounds like a real hoot: the first annual Ranch Life & Rodeo show.

Designed to honor the town's rich Western heritage, the event is packed with out-of-the-ordinary activities. Perhaps most notably, in celebration of Oregon's 150^th birthday, the Deschutes Historical Society is re-enacting an old-fashioned stagecoach ride between Bend and Sisters (the stage leaves from Sisters today and will return from Bend on Saturday (it's expected to arrive around 4 p.m.)

On a similar note, Jenny and Jerry Andres, owners of Sisters View Clydesdales, will offer free stagecoach rides from the Sisters Chamber of Commerce (291 E. Main) to Sisters Art Works (204 W. Adams) and back from noon-4 p.m.

For those who prefer smaller four-legged friends, Joanne Shook from Buck Haven Llama Farm is bringing her llamas to town (sorry, I don't have the details on that).

Artistic Options
Meanwhile, the Sisters arts community is pulling out all the stops. First, Sisters Art Works hosts a meet-the-artists reception from 10 a.m.-5 p.m., including Western artist/singer-songwriter Dyrk Godby. A onetime professional rodeo competitor, Godby will also be singing at various times during the day.

Noted naturalist sculptor Skip Armstrong demonstrates his chainsaw sculpture at noon, followed by Jeff Wester of Ponderosa Forge demonstrating his blacksmithing skills and horseshoeing technique at 2 p.m. And Jill Stanford, author of The Cowgirl Cookbook, will provide food samples (and chuckwagon food and cowboy coffee will be available to purchase all day).

Cowgirls of the West Living History, a local group of women dedicated in preserving cowgirl history from the 1900s-‘60s, will also be on hand at the Sisters Art Works building. They'll provide historical education about notable female rodeo competitors, Wild West performers, vaudeville performers and such (including Lucille Mulhall, Vera McGinnis, Prairie Rose Henderson and Dale Evans).

High Desert Gallery (281 W. Cascade Ave.) is hosting "West of West, A Celebration of Ranch Life" exhibit, with an artist's reception featuring refreshments and live music from 4-7 p.m.

Eating, Drinking and Merry-Making
Throughout the day, area restaurants will duke it out in a "Best Beef" Contest. Competing restaurants are creating a special beef dish to be judged for a panel of local Realtors; prizes will be awarded to the winners. Participants -- including Bronco Billy's Ranch Grill & Saloon, Aspen Lakes' Brand 33 Restaurant, The Gallery, Coyote Creek Cafe, Suttle Lake's Boathouse Restaurant, Ski Inn, Soji Noodle & Rice, Scoots Bar & Grill, Three Creeks Brewing Co., Martolli's Pizza, Papandrea's Pizzeria and Ken's Old Fashion Pizza -- have been asked to somehow include the dish on the menu during the celebration.

Bronco Billy's will also host a performance/class of line/square dancing by Jessica Yankey (manager/trainer at Emerald Ranch) from 4 to 6 p.m. Jessica will be calling and clogging; spectators will be encouraged to dance along with her.

Also from 4 to 6 p.m., COYO will perform its ancient Native American melodies behind Don Terra Artworks (222 W Hood). A beer garden will be open during the performance (actually from 3 to 7 p.m.), courtesy of Three Creeks Brewing Co.

And finally, for a 6 p.m. musical celebration at the Sisters Art Works building, Charley Engel (host of 106.7 KPOV's radio show "Calling All Cowboys") has gathered several cowboy poets and musicians, including The Anvil Blasters, Rick Steber, John Grant and the Western Revue, Don Worthing, and Big Pine and Pitchtones.($10 suggested donation.)

One last thing: This is a new event, organized by several resources, so some of the information provided here may not be accurate (in other words, if the time or location I've listed regarding a particular event within the show is inaccurate, I apologize! It's a work in progress...)

Lisa Broadwater is a Central Oregon-based real estate professional who specializes in listing and selling homes, especially in Sisters, Tumalo, Redmond and Bend. If you'd like to learn more about Central Oregon, please visit www.CentralOregonHome4You.com.