STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK
Saddle up for a Starry Starry Night in the Wild West.
The celebration of western heritage is the annual fundraiser for the Trailing of the Sheep Festival, held in early October in the Wood River Valley. This year’s benefit dinner and auction will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 7, at The Argyros.
It will include curated auction items, custom cocktails and mocktails from the Wild West Saloon Bar. Guests are invited to don their best western wear and customize their own hat at the Idaho Hat Bar while enjoying bluegrass tunes from Dewey, Pickette and Howe, comprised of local musicians Gary Carlson on guitar, Brad Hershey on bass and Dave Muscavage on mandolin.
There will be a Wild West Gamble for a chance at a fantastic prize. And, of course, an American Lamb Dinner featuring Grand Teton Lamb of Idaho with locally sourced cuisine prepared by Silver Fox Catering.
“We hope our guests come out and enjoy a great evening this August,” said Laura Musbach Drake, executive director of the Festival. “And, we hope that they know how important their support through this event is as it helps our non-profit Trailing of the Sheep Festival present another jam-packed five days of signature events for our community in October, all while keeping our largest events free and accessible to all.
VIP tickets are $225 and include Sheriff’s VIP Swag and VIP seating and premium wines. General admission tickets are $150, available online at https://trailingofthesheep.org/starry-starry-night.
The bucket-list festival attracts people from around the world.
The 2025 festival will be held Oct. 8-12. It honors 150-plus years of moving, or trailing, sheep from high mountain summer pastures through the valley to traditional winter grazing and lambing areas in the desert.
The five-day festival includes a Sheep Folklife Fair, lamb culinary offerings, Wool Fest classes, a National Qualifying Sheepdog Trials and the Big Sheep Parade through Ketchum.
It has been recognized as one of the Top Ten Fall Festivals in the World by msn.com travel and one of the Top Ten Fall Festivals by USA Today among many other accolades. It is a recipient of the Society of American Travel Writer’s Phoenix Award for Best in Cultural Tourism.