Popular Foothills institutions will be taking part in a festival celebrating western heritage.
The Way Out West Fest will feature numerous stops through the region that celebrate the west.
“It’s a celebration of our evolving west,” said organizer Kamla McGonigal. “We’re doing this to keep the western culture going and introduce more people to it.
“The main focus is the west, and anyone who’s been steeped in the western culture or is new to it is welcome.”
This will be the fourth such event, which started with 2017-2019, and a smaller event in September 2020.
One local stop celebrating their roots is Hard Knox Brewing, founded Pam Lyken and brother Cory, who were raised in Millarville and went to school at Oilfields High School in Black Diamond.
The brewery’s event in the tour, Culture Craft, takes place June 10 from 5-7 p.m. and will offer a tour and flight of their beers, all of which are named for staples of the Foothills region’s heritage.
“Our brand is western, we have rural roots — even the name Hard Knox is paying homage to how this area came to be, and our Dusty Trail IPA, it’s about coming out to the new frontier down the dusty trail,” Lyken said. “Our Grunt Work (amber ale) is named after the oil and gas workers.”
Photographers will get a dose of western culture through the Shoot the West photography workshop.
Day one will take place at the Stampede Ranch on June 10 from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and day two on June 11 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the ranch of Foothills film industry mainstay John Scott, led by photographer Scott Slusher.
The location has been used for western film sets for over 20 years, with numerous buildings and environments lending to the atmosphere.
“There’s three movie locations, wagons and horses and anything else they want to photograph,” Scott said.
“It just gives a good background for whatever they want to photograph.”
The set has played host to other groups, Scott added, including Calgary Stampede artists and a photography group travelling from Sweden.
“It’s very important to try and keep our western heritage, because it’s going by the wayside,” he said.
Also taking part in the event is Spirit Hills Winery, Eau Claire Distillery, Longview Leather, Scott Hardy Silversmithing, among others in Calgary and area.
For more information or tickets to the various stops in the event, visit http://wayoutwestfest.ca.
