Youth Programs
Youth Programs
Gathering the next generation for over 30 years.
The Western Folklife Center, local educators, and National Cowboy Poetry Gathering artists come together to offer high-quality education programs that explore the living artistic traditions of the rural West and beyond. Every January, a two-week education extravaganza engages more than 7000 Elko County students through field trips, assemblies, and hands-on workshops. These programs offer youth throughout rural northeastern Nevada a chance to interact with world-class talent and to take their place among these living traditions by sharing their own voices. And, these programs have become a tradition in their own right, now having served multiple generations of community members.
We’re proud to engage the next generation with the art of expression, the honor of carrying tradition into the future, and the cultural knowledge to be found in all corners of the world, including right here at home. And, we’re proud of the inspired works they’re turning out!
For youth at the Gathering
Coming soon!
For youth through the schools
Youth Festival
Third and fourth graders immerse themselves in hands-on learning about cowboy gear, “carving” their initials into leather and touring the latest gallery exhibition.
Cow Kids Stampede
All ages delight in interactive performances of music and poetry on the mainstage.
Student Art Show
The talented Elko County youth take their place among our artistic traditions by showcasing their own mixed media artwork for Gathering audiences.
Displayed in the G Three Bar Theater and Elevator Lobby, Western Folklife Center
Banner image: Charlie Ekburg
Slideshow images: Meg Glaser/Tamara Kubacki, jessica Brandi Lifland, Devon Blunden, Charlie Ekburg, Carly Giesen