Events
The North American westward expansion during the 1800s was driven by economic forces, as settlers moved west looking for opportunities and land, and cattle and horses were trailed northward into the plains where the bison once dominated the landscape. Towns and cities all along the way were born in a crucible of commerce that gave rise to a unique spirit of both independence and teamwork, often symbolized by the cowboy.
Today, many of those towns and cities are seeing economic decline as the cowboy is relegated to the silver screen and faded photo. It doesn't have to be that way. Our Western heritage can bring a commercial resurgence to communities and inspire economic enterprise in cities and towns through historical tourism and a celebration of Western culture and the cowboy year-round.
West7 Inc. helps with that by producing local Celebrating the WestSM events. They can be a single weekend night or a multiday weekend featuring Western/Cowboy, Western Swing, or Western Country music, poetry, and storytelling augmented by chuckwagon meals, exhibits of Western art and books, plus cowboy trappings vendors showing and selling leather goods, spurs, bits, silver work, saddles, boots, and hats. Many of these performers, artists, artisans, and authors are members of the prestigious Academy of Western Artists.
Celebrating the WestSM events are fundraisers for one or more nonprofits promoting Western culture. Events are scheduled as a single event, bi-monthly, or quarterly to provide year-round nonprofit funding and usually vary by rotating between the three music genres: Western/Cowboy, Western Swing, and Western Country. The weeks between events are bridged by various local activities for youth and adults, plus stories of local Western culture in newspapers, social media, on radio, and local websites. The magazine Celebrating the WestSM is also distributed by local merchants.
Area event producers are the key to the year-round process because they live within driving distance of the town or city and recruit/train participants in community-wide activities.
West7 provides a full infrastructure to support the area event production team:
- Training
- Online ticket sales and customer service
- Booking of talent
- Advertising
- Bookkeeping and budget monitoring
The area event producer is fully responsible for working with West7 to:
- Identify and schedule venues for events, concerts, exhibits, and vending
- Host talent
- Manage on-site ticket takers, ushers, security, and other venue personnel
- Sell or manage sales of local event sponsorships and advertising