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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Cowboys ride high at Yakima museum

Christianne Sharman The Spokesman-Review

When I was growing up, my cousin Laura and I spent many a hot, dusty afternoon at the Deer Park Fairgrounds showing our horses. It was always a 4-H sort of an affair, so it lacked the monied flavor of many such occasions.

My Aunt Lorna made our chaps out of the same kind of vinyl fabric you might use for a picnic table cover. They had fringe and everything.

And I can’t for the life of me fathom why the Yakima Valley Museum didn’t come calling for those chaps when they were putting together their new cowboy-themed exhibition.

True, I’m not famous like, say, Yakima Canutt or Nipo Strongheart (yes, these are the performers the museum’s news release calls out for special attention). But if you’re looking for cowboy artifacts, I’ve got them.

And that’s just what “Cowboys and the Silver Screen” presents, through July 27. The display also features Western movie posters, all of it on loan from the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.

The Yakima folks picked out two special galleries’ worth of movie posters representing everything from the silent era to the present, along with John Wayne’s shirt and hat from “The Searchers,” the hat and poncho Sam Elliott wore in ” The Sacketts,” movie stills, related images and more.

The aforementioned Canutt – a stuntman and rodeo star – will get his due, too, along with the more expected Gene Autry, Roy Rogers and the like.

According to the museum, “exhibit text will focus on the role of ‘real cowboys’ and rodeo stars in these early action movies.”

Exhibit admission runs $5 for adults. You can find more information at www.yakimavalleymuseum.org or (509) 248-0747.

Are you Experienced?

If you’re not even a little bit country, here’s a rock and roll option for you.

Through April 6, the Experience Music Project/Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame in Seattle mounts “Message to Love: Remembering and Reclaiming Jimi Hendrix,” the first of a two-phase exhibition about the West Side rocker.

You’ll get up close and personal with what they’re calling “two iconic Hendrix artifacts” – his Woodstock Fender Stratocaster and a Gibson Les Paul guitar he played in 1963.

What’s more, you’ll be encouraged to write your comments and reflections on the gallery walls.

The second phase, “Jimi Hendrix: An Evolution of Sound,” centers on the ongoing appeal of Hendrix’s guitar sound nearly 40 years after his death. It opens April 26.

Learn more at www.empsfm.org or (877) 367-7361.

West Side savings

My grandmother, possessor of an impish sense of humor, always said my grandfather would park in hell before he’d pay. So the following item might have piqued his interest.

Probably not. He really couldn’t imagine why anyone would ever leave the farm.

But if you have the urge to venture forth – and save some money at the same time – you might want to look into the 2008 edition of the Seattle TourSaver, a collection of two-to-one savings on things to do in Seattle, the San Juan Islands and Victoria.

For $3,000 worth, you’ll pay $79.95 (or $59.95 if you order by March 15).

Find out more at www.seattletoursaver.com or (907) 278-7600.

Regional events

•Tubapalooza Music and Sled Festival, March 1, McCall, Idaho. This is the spot for live music, downhill kayak races and a cardboard sled derby. (www.visitidaho.org/208-315-2819)

•Bellingham Bead Festival, March 7-9, Bellingham. More than 40 vendors and artists will present workshops, classes and their wares. (www.bellingham.com/888-500-2323)

•Western Heritage Artists Association Art Show, March 12-16, Great Falls. Run by artists for artists, the show includes seminars and a People’s Choice Award. (www.visitmt.com/406-453-2990)