Photo by Jessica Brandi Lifland, 2019
It is with heavy hearts that we must announce the cancellation of the upcoming National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, originally planned for Jan. 24-29, 2022. After careful consideration of logistical challenges and financial hurdles due to the COVID pandemic, we have determined it will be impossible to deliver a Gathering experience that resembles anything close to what we have all come to expect.
The Gathering has always been unique—it is so much more than just a week full of entertaining and educational programs. People come here to be together, to hug, to dance, to eat and drink, to sit shoulder-to-shoulder while listening to poetry and music. It’s multigenerational, because we celebrate age and wisdom and connection with our elders. It’s in winter, when ranchfolk have a little downtime. It’s almost exclusively indoors, because we celebrate the nuances of silence and the spoken word (and it’s usually cold outside!). It’s in Elko, because this is a cowboy town and that’s how we like it.
Our community, however, is experiencing a very serious surge in COVID numbers. Elko County has seen a rise in cases, hospitalizations, and deaths over the past two months. By order of the governor, masks are currently required indoors for everyone. We know that we cannot enforce that due to the nature of our event, and frankly, we can’t imagine it feeling like the Gathering with them.
With so much uncertainty, it is unclear what will be required in January, but after surveying our artists, volunteers, members, ticket buyers, and extended workforce, we know now that we will be unable to accommodate the broad spectrum of expectations in producing both a safe and comfortable event for everyone—let alone something that comes anywhere close to their memories of past events. No matter what we do, we know that decreased ticket sales will not cover increased costs to produce the event, and that could jeopardize the future of both the Western Folklife Center and the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering.
We are so sorry to disappoint everyone. We were looking forward to January as much as you all were, but know that we will be bringing you some special programming, live-streamed from our iconic Elko venue in January (details to be revealed soon). We are also exploring more ways to connect with you in the coming year, both online and in-person. We are getting right to work planning the 2023 National Cowboy Poetry Gathering and remain committed to fulfilling the Western Folklife Center’s mission to use story and cultural expression to connect the American West to the world. Our nationally recognized cultural center is open to local residents and visitors, Monday through Friday, 10 am to 5:30 pm, and 10 am to 5 pm on Saturday. We hope you will stop by to see us.
