Northern Wyoming News - Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years

The 22nd annual Culturefest kicks off at 9 a.m. in the back lawn of the Worland Community Center Complex this Saturday.

The annual festival originally started downtown and was moved in 2010 to the Community Center when the community center took over the organization of the event.

WCCC events organizer Sheryl Ley said the event is a family-friendly community event hosted by the Community Center. She said it is not a fundraiser for the center. They have sponsors who help fund the event including Farmers Insurance-Lisa Beamer Agency, Range, ANB Bank, Security State Bank and the City of Worland.

The event is known for its variety of entertainment and food and craft vendors.

Opening the festival will be Worland High School student Josh Yslava, who will be a senior this fall, He will sing the national anthem and perform at 3:45 p.m. as the final act for the festival.

Yslava is a member of the jazz choir. He said he is a tribute artist with an expertise in grunge music. Grunge is defined as a fusion of classic and punk rock.

For the performance at Culturefest he will be using performance tracks. Yslava noted that "I like to say I am a guitar player and a singer, but not at the same time."

While he has performed at open mic nights, Yslava said the Culturefest venue will be his largest to date.

In addition to singing, Yslava said he also is getting experience on the production side for the past six years and eventually would like to find a way to blend his performance and production.

OTHER

ENTERTAINMENT

This year's entertainment includes musical groups from around the Big Horn Basin with the feature act the Wind River Dancers from the Wind River Reservation. The Wind River Dancers have performed in Worland during the fall as part of Indigenous Peoples Day at Washakie Museum.

According to information from the Wyoming Arts Council, "With a theme of 'A Cultural Heritage Shared Through Dance and Songs,' the Wind River Dancers perform a variety of American Indian dance styles, which includes men's traditional, grass and fancy feather and women's fancy shawl, jingle dress and traditional."

The Wind River Dancers will perform at 9:45 a.m. and 12:45 p.m.

Hyattville twins Liam and Layne Jordan have been making a name for themselves as they perform around the Basin the past few years including Nowoodstock in Ten Sleep last year. The 12-year-olds perform cover songs from different genres including folk, country, alternative and classic rock. They also play several original songs.

The Jordans will perform at 10:45 a.m. and 1:45 p.m.

They also will appear at the Washakie County Fair next month and Nowoodstock in August.

Jeff Troxel of Cody is an award-winning guitarist who crosses musical boundaries, according to his biography from the Wyoming Arts Council. His performances showcase his songwriting and mastery of guitar that earned him flatpicking championships in Wyoming, Utah and the 2003 National Flatpicking Championship.

According to his biography on his website, Troxel plays the guitar, writes music for guitar, teaches guitar and writes books about guitar.

Troxell will perform at 11:45 a.m. and 2:45 p.m.

SPECIAL

PRESENTATION, BOOTHS

After the national anthem there will be a special presentation by the Washakie County Conservation District.

WCCD Education Coordinator Janet Hofmann will be honoring Ten Sleep teacher Shara Mills and her students for the mural they painted for the Ten Sleep recycling trailer. The trailer will be on display and then moved back to Ten Sleep to accept recyclables.

Hofmann said Ten Sleep resident Shreve Stockton came up with the idea to give the recycling trailer a facelift. The WCCD applied for a grant through the Wyoming Arts Council to cover the cost of art supplies and the Conservation District kicked in funds to sandblast and seal the trailer.

They partnered with the art teacher Shara Mills and National Honor Society Advisor Chawna Weichmann, who runs the recycling program in Ten Sleep schools to facilitate the project. 

"The planning process started last fall and the project finally came to fruition in the last two months of school.  The weather was not very cooperative as we needed warm weather to sandblast the trailer and prepare it for painting.  That was the major hold up on the project," Hofmann said.

Vega Bros. Auto Body also made a significant financial contribution toward the project as cost of materials skyrocketed over the months of planning, she said.  "They honored their original quote and donated the increase in cost to the project, which was very generous," Hofmann added.

In addition to the music and special presentation there will be a variety of food and drink booths, including some adult beverages. There will be a variety of craft, artistry and business vendors.

There will also be some fun for young children including bouncy houses, shaved ice and the 4-H petting zoo.