Your link to the Old West this Memorial Day weekend is on wheels and cooks

Dave Cathey, Oklahoman
·2 min read
Adam Emerson cooks a large batch of barbecue beef stew during the 27th annual Chuck Wagon Festival at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, which returns this weekend.
Adam Emerson cooks a large batch of barbecue beef stew during the 27th annual Chuck Wagon Festival at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, which returns this weekend.

The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum will be hopping, rain or shine, this weekend with its annual Chuck Wagon Festival from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

“Our annual Chuck Wagon festival, now in its 31st year, has become a family tradition where we gather to celebrate the West,” said Natalie Shirley, Museum President and CEO in a news release. “This year, guests can expect to see both old and new traditions come together for an immersive, weekend-long experience that we are so excited to host at our museum.”

Returning for the second year, Native American food samples will be available in Liichokoshkomo’, the museum’s interactive outdoor addition showcasing the diversity of the West with intertribal native dwellings, a pioneer village and interactive natural history features. Visitors can chat with the chef and learn more about the histories and traditions of Native foods.

More: Guy Fieri cooking show champ Kevin Lee brings Korean-style fried chicken to Oklahoma City

Chuckwagon cooks, several of whom are long-time festival participants, will travel from across Oklahoma and surrounding states to the museum at 1700 NE 63 St. to provide visitors with a taste of traditional cowboy cooking.

Artisan demonstrations including archery, ropemaking, flint knapping, painting, basket weaving, and quilting will buttress a petting zoo for kids. This year’s festivities will also feature a Native American hunters camp with re-enactors in period 1700s-era clothing and a dugout canoe demonstration.

Live music from Western re-enactors Rodeo Opry will lead dancing. For the first time this year, the museum education team will help families build a model of Prosperity Junction entirely out of Legos.

Admission is $15 per person and free for museum members and children 12 and under. For the first time this year, tickets are available to purchase in advance online at nationalcowboymuseum.org/chuckwagon.

All crafts and activities are free with admission, except food from The Museum Grill and souvenirs from The Museum Store.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Chuck Wagon fest returns to National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum