The Wild West was brought to life at The 28th Annual Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival, which took place on April 20th and 21st. The event is comprised of numerous Western-themed attractions including music, food, games, demonstrations, and shops.
Thousands of guests, both local and out-of-town, gathered at William S. Hart Park to enjoy the festivities. With such a large crowd, the event gave vendors the opportunity to generate revenue and advertise their businesses.
“It gives a lot of opportunity for singers, vendors and the public,” said Felicia Tausig, who sold her western-themed jewelry, artwork, and photography at the festival. “I’ve had a lot of interest in my jewelry and my artwork. So that’s really exciting for me,”
Although jewelry making and photography are not Tausig’s primary income source, they are passions of hers.
“I love photography. I love making jewelry. I love being creative.” Here at the Cowboy Festival, Tausig was able to share these passions, as well as make a bit of extra income.
Among vendors, like Tausig, who worked for profit, there were several non-profit organizations, such as the Santa Clarita Rotary Club.
Rotary Club member Jerry Munson described the organization as “a group of like-minded businesspeople that give back their services and donations to the community.”
At this festival, people eagerly line up for a serving of the Rotary Club’s famous Cowboy Peach Cobbler. All of the revenue generated by that cobbler goes towards institutions such as schools, hospitals, children’s charities, nursing facilities, and groups addressing veteran’s needs across the Santa Clarita Valley.
“The money that the Santa Clarita Valley Rotary Club makes, is invested back in our community,” said Steve Corn another member of the Rotary Club. “We donate money to various nonprofits in the community that ask us for money to help with their programming.”
Vendors at the festival were not the only ones benefitting economically from the event. Local businesses in Old Town Newhall also experienced an increase in customers.
“It definitely creates a business boom in Old Town Newhall,” said Santa Clarita’s Communications Manager Carrie Lujan. “The Lexen Hotel, which is our host hotel, has been sold out with people coming in for the festival for the weekend.” Lujan also described how many guests often visit their favorite restaurants and boutiques along Main Street after leaving the festival.
A member of the New Buffalo Soldiers shows off his horse to Cowboy Festival visitors. Samantha Pearce/Canyons News.
Lujan went on to describe some of the city’s future plans for the Cowboy Festival. Notably, the city is seeking to transfer Hart Park from being owned by the county to being owned by the city.
“I think once the city is here and we’re running this facility, and this beautiful 362 acres of green space, we’ll be able to really embrace all that Hart Park can bring to the Cowboy Festival,” she said.
