New Production 'Headin' West' Debuts at Silver Dollar City's
Festival of American Music & Crafts.
Released: Branson, Mo. 08/07
Launching a major new production for the Festival of American Music & Crafts
with the popular Salute to the Great American Cowboy, Silver Dollar City presents
Headin' West. The Broadway-style show is slated to be the park's most
impressive production ever, dramatizing the adventure of America's Western expansion. Headin' West debuts September 13 with the opening of the festival, which
also features Western music stars, trick riding and roping, bluegrass bands and the nation's
top craftsmen. The Festival of American Music & Crafts runs through October 27 at the Branson, Missouri, theme park.
An original musical production created exclusively by and for Silver Dollar City,
Headin' West tells the story of the American pioneer spirit through the character's
quest for new frontiers in the 1870s west. The story comes to life with elaborate sets,
surround-sound, revolving scenery, visual projections and period costumes.
Impressive special effects immerse the audience in adventures from deep cave
prospecting and white water rafting to a thundering buffalo stampede. A talented
cast of 14 actors performs, with live music enhanced with an original orchestra score.
The festival also features Michael Martin Murphey in a special concert September 21,
headlining the Western entertainment. Trick roper Johnny Lonestar, seen recently on
America's Got Talent, performs along with Sons of the San Joaquin, cowboy poets, Roy Rogers Jr., a Native American hoop dancer, and the singing Sons of the Silver Dollar. An all-new arena show features trick riders, World-Record holding palomino trick horses, wild
mustangs and long-horned steers. Cowboy boot makers from around the country compete
in the 2nd annual Best of Amerian Boot Makers competition.
Widely recognized as the premier event for fine craftsmanship, the festival features
custom hat makers, copper sculptors, silversmiths and stain glass artists, some of more than 125 visiting artists from across the country who fill booths lining the streets
of the theme park with their colorful handwork. Best of Missouri Hands juried artists are
spotlighted around the square with wares including silver wire jewelry, handcrafted
pewterware, hand-woven baskets and stoneware pottery. A special showcase of western
crafters features custom-made leather hats, spur making, western art, bronze sculpture and leather saddle and tack making.
The tastes of the fall harvest are served up throughout the park, with smoked
turkey legs, roasted corn on the cob and hearty skillet meals cooked on open grills. For
a full festival feast, guests can dine at Tastes of America in the Red Gold Heritage Hall,
featuring barbecued ribs, roasted prairie chicken, southwestern tacos or buffalo chili, and desserts from blackberry cobbler and peach pie to hot apple dumplings, while
trick riders, ropers and rodeo stars perform in the Red Gold Arena.
Cowboy Features
Meet some of television's top westernheroes when Gunsmoke's Buck Taylor hosts
stars of classic American Westerns from Wagon Train to F Troop, and catch performances
by Waddie Mitchell and other Western Heritage Cowboy Poets. Dancers can kick up their heels at the country barn dance.
Western Performers include:
| Michael Martin Murphey |
Roy Rogers Jr. |
Sourdough Slim |
| Sons of the San Joaquin |
Kip Calahan |
Bill Barwick |
| Red Steagall |
Sons of the Silver Dollar |
R.W. Hampton |
| Syd Masters and the Swing Riders |
Waddie Mitchell |
Johnny Lonestar |
Bluegrass & Traditional Music Features
National touring bands, gospel and bluegrass favorites perform throughout the park.
Performers include:
| The Biscuit Burners |
Foxfire Bluegrass |
Hit & Run Bluegrass |
| The Chapmans |
Midnight Flight |
NewFound Road |
| Bluestar |
The Martins |
The Wilders |
The sounds and smells of the fall harvest fill the Silver Dollar City Square, where
guests can see sorghum and apple butter making. A cast of talented singers and dancers
perform in This Country's Rockin' at Echo Hollow Amphitheater each evening.
Throughout the festival, the park is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays,
and 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturdays. For festival and ticket information, call 1-800-831-4FUN. Information, music groups' performance schedules and craftsmen schedules can be found on the web site at www.silverdollarcity.com.