By Marcia Love
The Cowboy Poetry Committee isn’t letting set backs from the flood cancel this year’s gathering in Maple Creek from Sept. 17 to 19.
Instead, the committee is asking for the community’s assistance in making the 21st annual Cowboy Poetry Gathering and Western Arts and Gear Show as successful as it was in previous years.
Because of the number of residents displaced from their flood-damaged homes and work crews in the area residing at the motel, there is a zero vacancy for Cowboy Poetry attendants to stay during the gathering.
The committee is asking interested residents with room available in their homes to billet a visitor for the weekend’s events.
With the Adopt-a-Poet Program that Cowboy Poetry has available for artists, musicians and poets taking part in the gathering, the committee hopes a similar program can be put in place to accommodate other attendants.
“The billeting we have set up for our artists, poets and musicians each year has built a friendship through that contact,” said Eleanor Bowie, an organizer with the Cowboy Poetry Committee. “What we’re looking for now is to expand that program for this year to allow more people to come.”
The committee has received a number of people inquiring about accommodations in the community.
Last year’s event drew about 400 attendants, many of whom were from within the community. Some visitors choose to camp at parks in the area, but many rely on the town’s hotels and motels for accommodations.
The Cowboy Poetry Society is unsure how many requests it may receive for lodging.
Bowie said the society knows it is a great deal to ask of residents to open their home to someone possibly unknown to them, but no other options are available for many Cowboy Poetry attendants.
“We don’t want the flood to be the reason that Cowboy Poetry isn’t successful this year,” she explained. “We’re hoping because Maple Creek is seen as one of the most hospitable and friendly communities that we can show (our visitors) that hospitality and open our hearts and our homes.”
Bowie noted interested residents would have the option of offering a bed and breakfast for a fee or simply offering a straight billet. Whether only one bedroom is available for one person, the Cowboy Poetry Society would greatly appreciate any assistance residents are willing to make available.
For more information on the billeting program or to make arrangements to accommodate a visitor, residents can contact Connie Phillips at 662-3629.