STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK
Belly up to the Western Sky Saloon Bar for custom cocktails and mocktails, try your luck at a Wild West Gamble for a chance to win a special prize and dance to the music of the Kim Stocking Band at the annual Starry Starry Night Under the Western Sky.
The event, a fundraiser for the 30th annual Trailing of the Sheep Festival, will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, June 18, at The Argyros Performing Arts Center in Ketchum.
And, of course, it will feature an American Lamb dinner featuring locally sourced cuisine.
General admission tickets are $175 and VIP Tickets, which cost $250 and include VIP seating and swag, are available at https://trailingofthesheep.org/starry-starry-night.
Leave your tuxedo and evening gown at home and step into your finest western wear as you take part in an evening designed to support the Festival’s mission to gather, celebrate, present and preserve the history and culture of sheepherding in Idaho and the West.
There’ll be auction items for boisterous bidders. And the Kim Stocking Trio, comprised of Kim Stocking, her sister Ember Stocking Jensen and Mike Saul will perform country, rock and folk covers from such artists as Alison Krauss and Tom Petty.
Dig in your spurs for a wild ride, as there will be other special surprises throughout the evening.
“We hope our Festival friends come out and enjoy a great evening, knowing that their support helps the non-profit Trailing of the Sheep Festival present our exciting 30th anniversary event in October, keeping our largest events free and accessible to all,” said the Festival’s Executive Director Laura Musbach Drake.
Musbach Drake said the goal is to fundraise $300,000 to produce the five-day event which will be held Oct. 7-11 this fall.
The festival features nonstop activities including a Sheep Folklife Fair, lamb culinary cooking classes, Wool Fest classes, music and dancing, storytelling, the National Qualifying Sheepdog Trials and the always entertaining Big Sheep Parade, which features more than 1,200 sheep hoofing it down Main Street.
The festival has evolved over the past three decades into a bucket-list Festival attracting people from around the country and around the world and earning top accolades calling it one of the Top Ten Fall Festival in the World, Top Ten U.S. Fall Festivals and One of the Greatest Cultural Events in the West from USA Today, Sunset Magazine, Northwest Travel, AARP and others.
“Our success is a result of true community collaboration and support, and we are grateful for all those who help us continue to put on this iconic event,” said Musbach Drake.
This year’s sponsors include D.L. Evans Bank, Cindy Theobald of KellerWilliams and Mrogan Stanley.