For a taste of the real wild west of the 1800's, join the thousands of visitors along with the locals in Jackson, Wyoming for the annual 4-day Memorial Day weekend, (2008 celebration starts May 23 and extends through May 26), Old West Days celebration. The activities include a parade, chuckwagon dinner and concert, bed races, Mountain Man Rendezvous, rodeo, and daily events on the Town Square. Cowboy hats and boots, and Indian trade beads are in abundance. The ski areas (Snow King on the edge of Jackson and Teton Village about 20-30 minutes away) join in the festivities with wine tasting, aerial tram rides, and Mountain Man Rendezvous Traders Row. Talk with modern day mountain men who recreate the famous Rendezvous begun during the frontier days by famous trappers like John Colter, Jim Bridger and Davey Jackson.
Experience the historically authenticated campsites, teepees and campfire cooked fry bread. The event also kicks off the first official "Shoot Out" of the summer season when everyone gathers at the Town Square to watch gunslingers, in period costumes using vintage guns dating back to 1865-1900, in an action-packed western melodrama pitting the good guys against the bad guys in a re-enactment of frontier justice. Old West Days also includes the first regular rodeo of the season on Saturday night. Listen to live country music throughout the weekend on the Town Square, watch Indian dancers, cloggers and others dance performances, take a historic walking tour of Jackson, taste the food, and check out the western theme bars and restaurants around the square.
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