STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK

A concert featuring Lynard Skynyrd’s rock guitarist Mark “Sparky” Matejka will highlight Carey’s Pioneer Days this weekend.

Matejka, who joined the band in 2006 and also played for the Charlie Daniels Band, will headline the concert, which starts at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, July 13, at the Carey rodeo grounds.

Jonathan Warren and the Billygoats will lead off at 4:30, followed by Levi Blom at 6 p.m. Matejka and Tennessee songwriter/guitarist Chris Hennessee will take the stage at 8 p.m. Hennessee has had songs recorded by Billy Currington, Rodney Carrington, Cody Johnson and others, and his songs “Hennessee” and “On a Rail” have been featured on the TV show “Nashville.”

Tickets are $25, if purchased online in advance at https://careypioneerdays.ticketsauce.com. They’re $30 at the gate.

The concert is just one event in a long lineup of events that start today—Friday, July 12, said Jon Parkinson, the chairman of Pioneer Days.

The celebration, which marks the arrival of Brigham Young and the Mormons into the Salt Lake valley in 1847, kicks off with a picnic at 6:30 p.m. tonight. Cost is $5 per person or $20 for families.

The picnic will be followed by a rodeo featuring bull riding, bronc riding, rope racing and barrel racing at 7:30 p.m. at the Carey rodeo grounds. Tickets are $7 for adults, $5 for youth between the ages of 6 and 10 and free for kids 5 and under.

A kung-fu style outdoor movie will follow.

Saturday’s events will kick off with a car show from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Blaine County Fairgrounds. There also will be bounce houses for kids.

Longtime Carey residents Bob and Jimmie Simpson will serve as grand marshals for the Pioneer Days parade, which starts at 11 on Main Street. The parade will start at Carey Avenue and proceeds to County Shop Road.

Other events during the day include a volleyball and cornhole tournament at 11 a.m. and a car show poker run at 1 p.m.

Got camping? Yes, they do. Camping is available for $20 per night over the weekend. Reserve a spot by calling 208-309-2757 or 208-720-1712.