After a two-year pandemic-caused hiatus, the Sheridan Arts Foundation (SAF) will celebrate 29 years of enriching children’s lives with the Wild West Fest (WWF) next week, June 6-11. Eighteen young people from Boys & Girls Clubs in Wichita Falls, Texas; Denver; and regionally from Nucla, Norwood and Telluride will take part in a week of empowering activities.

Like so many other events that are re-emerging after being forced to cancel for two years in a row, the SAF staff is more than ready to welcome back an event that gives under-served youth an opportunity to spread their wings.

“I'm ecstatic to have the program back this year,” said PR and marketing director Maggie Stevens. “Everyone at the SAF really believes that Wild West Fest is a great chance for kids to take positive risks, learn about themselves and gain confidence, so to not be able to offer that opportunity for two years because of the pandemic was a huge disappointment. We feel privileged to help these kids become a part of our magical community even for just a week.”

It’s a week, SAF Executive Director Ronnie Palamar said, that goes by too quickly.

“We're always so excited to bring these kids for a week full of adventures, hiking, horseback riding, BBQs and more,” she said. “But the program is so jam packed that it blows by and before we know it, we have to say goodbye.”

Pre-COVID, the festival hosted as many as 50 kids — and hopes to do so for next year’s 30th anniversary — but this year it will be a smaller group.

“We have a smaller group of kids than normal as we ease back into housing kids from all over the country during a pandemic,” Stevens said. “We have six kids from Boys & Girls Club of Wichita Falls, Texas, eight kids from Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver, and then four regional kids from the West End, Norwood and Telluride, for a total of 18 kids. We always want a balance of regional kids who are part of our community and then kids from cities and out-of-state who have never really experienced the mountains before.”

Stevens, who also serves as the festival camp director, said being able to stage the event at all is a privilege on the heels of a pandemic that yet lingers.

“The SAF had to take 2020 and 2021 off due to the pandemic, so this year’s program is extra meaningful. We were determined to bring Wild West Fest back because we really believe in the opportunities it provides, but there’s always that worry, especially with the extent of devastation caused by COVID-19, that people will have moved on and not want to support the program,” Stevens said. “The other staff and myself were really buoyed by the overwhelming support received from the community and especially our donors who became child sponsors.”

The kids will hit the ground running. Tuesday through Thursday, the youth, ages 12-18, will partake in the Chip Allen Mentorship Program (CAMP), which SAF staff said is the most integral component of the Wild West Fest. The youth will be grouped with professionals in the fields of fly-fishing, outdoor adventure, rock ’n’ roll and the newly added Life on the Ranch mentorship, which explores the responsibilities and adventures of tending to the land and caring for livestock and hobby farm animals. Kids work with experts in each category through the week to learn more about their chosen field.

According to a news release, the CAMP program prioritizes each child’s personal and individual needs to ensure a positive learning experience so that all youth return home with a greater sense of self-confidence, personal awareness and a firm grasp on some new skills. Mentors this year are Joel Kirkoff and Paul Horrigan (fly fishing), Mark Galbo (music/Rock and Roll Academy), Josh Laydon (outdoor adventure), and Ashley Deppen, Kayla Brack and Justin Shupp (Life on the Ranch).

“Over the past 27 years, I have watched the Wild West Fest kids who have the opportunity to participate in the weeklong camp experience new friendships, independence, become more environmentally aware, and most importantly, take positive risks. At the Wild West Fest camp, you can eat your cake, flavored with a mix of fun, and eat it, too,” Palamar said.

The Rock and Roll Academy CAMP mentorship participants will give a performance Thursday on the SHOW Bar patio at 4 p.m. Kids from the other mentorships will also get the chance to share a little of the knowledge they have gained through the program by sharing anecdotes and personal achievements and challenges for the WWF Showcase and Shindig. The showcase is free and open to the public.

Following the showcase, the kids will be thrown two of summer’s best words (and activities) — pool party! The fun takes place at the Town Park Pool with pizza donated by Brown Dog Pizza.

Friday, June 10, ends with a performance from The Buzz and Buffalo Commons as part of the Sheridan Arts Foundation’s SHOWcase where up-and-coming bands take the Sheridan Opera House stage for a discounted ticket price. Based out of Denver, Colorado, The Buzz is a funk/jam/psychedelic five-piece project that absolutely jams.

Since 2017, Buffalo Commons, a Steamboat Springs-based project, has been moving souls and feet. The band's harmonizing vocals and tight musicianship harnessed to their infectious energy has already created a diehard group of fans known as the “Herd.” The Buzz and Buffalo Commons is at 8 p.m., and tickets are only $15, with no fee. The public is welcome.

Wild West Fest was conceived over 30 years ago when the SAF was created as a 501c3 nonprofit to preserve and protect the Sheridan Opera House. That’s when SAF began bringing underserved youth from around the country to Telluride for the Wild West Fest to help broaden the kids’ horizons.

The SAF prides itself in covering all expenses, and the organization is deeply grateful for the generous support of child sponsors and product sponsors. While program costs continue to rise, the Sheridan Arts Foundation still sets donations of $1,000 as the threshold to become a child sponsor.

Those interested in supporting the Wild West Fest can contact Palamar at 970-728-6363, ext. 1 or ronnie@sheridanoperahouse.com.

For more information, visit sheridanoperahouse.com.