On January 27th, 2025, the Elko Daily Free Press published an article about the Western Folklife Center’s financial challenges. The Western Folklife Center’s Executive Director Kristin Windbigler responded with this guest column to provide critical context to the information presented in the article and the potentially misleading headline.
"People loved their experience here, and that's why so many hold Elko so fondly in their hearts.”
It seems like every year after the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering concludes, people say it was the best Gathering ever, but this year—on its 40th anniversary—the event had a special glow. Everyone we have talked to could feel it. Visitors from as far away as Germany filled Elko’s hotels and restaurants while enjoying our programming and the other unaffiliated events happening at venues all over town. Visitors were so thrilled by the reception they received that they even asked us if we had emailed the entire town to ask you all to be extra friendly and nice. People loved their experience here, and that’s why so many hold Elko so fondly in their hearts.
During our big week, the Elko Daily Free Press ran a story about the Folklife Center’s financial challenges, and although we felt the story itself was fair, it was accompanied by a misleading headline claiming we have lost more than $2 million over the past 12 years. If you saw it while scrolling through your social media feed, you might have been left thinking we owe some people a heck of a lot of money. The Folklife Center is currently carrying no debt, and as was explained in the article (if one made it past the paywall), at least $1.5 million of the “loss” is in depreciation on our building at 501 Railroad Street. It is true that we have been forced to dip into our savings and our reserves are running low, but we pay our bills.
"... earned revenue accounts for a little less than half of what it costs to produce the event... We must raise the rest.”
At this year’s Gathering, we sold nearly 14,000 tickets and passes, making 2025 the second highest year in ticket sales in our 40-year history. It’s important to note, though, that earned revenue accounts for a little less than half of what it costs to produce the event (and just a third of what it costs to keep the Folklife Center open all year). We must raise the rest. In the past fiscal year ending in June, 2024, about 13 percent of contributed revenue—including local government support, Gathering sponsorships, and donations by businesses and individuals—came from within Elko County. The rest comes from donors and organizations based elsewhere in Nevada and the rest of the country.
"We ultimately voted to go all in on Elko, but with the hope that Elko would go all in on us."
We understand that Elko itself plays a major role in how visitors experience our programming, and we know how much the Gathering means to the community, both economically and as a point of pride. Board Chair Jon Griggs and I have both gone on record when it comes to our commitment to our hometown, but during the pandemic, the board was forced in our strategic planning to consider some drastic operational changes, including the possibility of a smaller event or even moving the Folklife Center and the Gathering to a more populated area. After much discussion and consideration, we ultimately voted to go all in on Elko, but with the hope that Elko would go all in on us.
We are very grateful to everyone who has stuck with us, and to the new folks who have more recently joined our efforts. We have a very exciting plan to turn our biggest asset, the Pioneer Hotel Building, from a cost center to revenue generator, which would allow us to keep the Folklife Center and the Gathering in Elko for good. We are finalizing plans and raising money to turn part of the building into a cowboy-poetry-themed hotel and restaurant. We commissioned a feasibility study that shows such an endeavor is likely to generate enough regular, recurring revenue to make us sustainable and even allow us to fund our mission in a way that might allow us to grow while also contributing to the revitalization of downtown. We express our heartfelt gratitude to our local and national sponsors who, year after year, provide financial support for the Gathering, and in turn, for this community. If you value the Gathering or have enjoyed the Folklife Center at other times of the year, we need everyone's support to strengthen our day-to-day operations as we vigorously work toward sustainability.
Want to get started? Sign up for our newsletter to stay informed about unfolding hotel plans and other ways to support us. And, consider bringing friends to next year's Gathering. When you recommend us, you keep us going.
