The 36th NCPG: Join Me in Elko!

This month, the Western Folklife Center announced its lineup for the 36th annual National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, January 27-February 1, 2020. It’s going to be a fun one! Every year, Western Folklife focuses on a theme within the ranching community. Years past have often centered […]

Why Elko and the NCPG?

Northern Nevada may be beautiful, but it is not lush. In the winter, it is windy and cold. One might even call it “unwelcoming.” So the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, hosted by the Western Folklife Center and held annually for the last 35 years, stands […]

We sit down with Western Folklife’s Kristin Windbigler

At the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, we were thrilled to sit down with Kristin Windbigler, executive director of Western Folklife, the organization that runs the Gathering. She took the helm less than a year ago after serving on its board of directors and working for TED as […]

A Visit with Western Folklife’s Kristin Windbigler

Kristin Windbigler is the new executive director of the Western Folklife Center and the event it runs, the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering. We visited with her via email about the organization and this year’s production, the 34th annual gathering which runs from January 29 to […]

NCPG in Elko: Celebrating Storytelling and Life with Horses

For those who’ve not had the pleasure of attending the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, an annual event run by Western Folklife in Elko, Nevada, it may be easier to describe it through metaphor: If the Gathering were something you ate, it would be tapas, snacks […]

NCPG Welcomes The Moth

The National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, the granddaddy of gatherings, continues to evolve in its 33rd rendition, taking place in Elko, Nevada, January 30-February 4, 2017. For the first time, the event will highlight an evening with The Moth, a New York City-based organization and a […]

Spotlight on Baja Vaqueros

This year’s National Cowboy Poetry Gathering will shine the spotlight on the vaqueros of Baja California, folks who still adhere to the ranching and horsemanship ways used for hundreds of years on the rugged Mexican peninsula. They use horses and mules for their work with […]