Southern Utah News Front Page: August 19, 2019

Welcome to Western Legends

By Dixie Brunner

Welcome to Western Legends Heritage and Music Festival! The three-day event, August 15-17, is a celebration of heritage, music and movies. The 2019 event, now being run by the Kane County Events & Volunteer Center, in conjunction with the Office of Tourism, will have new added elements to focus more on this area’s western heritage and music.

Main events featured include a country music battle, live entertainment, high noon parade, street fair, street dance, BBQ competition, and a rodeo! Western Legends Heritage and Music Festival will offer a weekend of fun for the entire family.

The event gets underway Thursday night with a rodeo at Kaneplex Arena, with World Champion Bronc Rider Cody Wright in attendance. The gates open at 5 p.m. and the action gets underway at 7 p.m. There will be a free shuttle bus running from the Visitor Center to the Kaneplex Arena every half hour from 5:30 to 10 p.m.

The Country Band Battle will feature two days of six bands battling it out at the Redstone Theater, 29 West Center Street, for a whopping $15,000, with the winner taking it all. The winning band will perform during a street dance finale on Saturday night. Competing bands include: Thomas Gabriel, Chris Petersen, Aaron Pax Taylor, Thrillbilly Deluxe, 20 Hands High and The Damn Liars.

This year’s local Western Legends Honorees are Bruce Bunting, Hal Hamblin and David Johnson, all long-time Kane County and Fredonia area ranchers. They are the very definition of celebration of our western heritage. Congratulations to these three deeply-respected pillars of our communities!

The other honored guests will be the movie stars! Since Kanab and Kane County has an enormous history of being ‘Little Hollywood,’ it’s only fitting that you go meet some of the stars or attend the film festival and panel discussions. Movie stars will be available in the gym at the LDS Church.

There will also be a fully sanctioned Kansas City Barbeque Society BBQ Contest. Watch as the professional grillers, as well as amateur chefs, compete to win cash prizes, trophies and bragging rights. Six of the barbeque teams will even have meat samples available for you to taste. (Bracelets are available for $5.)

There is a four-day, three-night Wagon Train Trek, with the last leg a ride down Center Street in Kanab, joining the famous “High Noon Parade” on Saturday.

Corey and Tyler Jones will be offering wagon rides. There will be a display of family antique farm equipment, a quilt raffle, as well as tours of the Kanab Heritage House and Kanab Heritage Museum.

On Friday night, The Stranded Tourists will present Country Legends at 7 p.m. at the Redstone Theater. Re-live music from country western stars Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, Hank Williams and more.

On Saturday evening, country music entertainer Roo Arcus will headline at the Redstone Theater, starting at 7 p.m. Arcus had three top 10 singles from his debut album, “Station Boy.” On a later album, he earned Song of the Year with the title track, “This Here Cowboy.”

Programs for the multitude of events scheduled can be purchased for $5 at the Kane County Office of Tourism or at the information booth at the Street Fair on Main Street.

Western Legends Heritage and Music Festival will provide you an entire weekend of fun events and activities. Welcome to all our friends and visitors who have come from near and far to have a heapin’ helping of our great area and hospitality!

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