Doc Durden’s ‘West Fest’ coming to Virginia City

Doc Durden, the “Big Boss,” is an Old West cowboy actor and president of Foothill Productions based in Virginia City. He’s putting on a Wild West Festival this Memorial Day Weekend, May 24-26. The hoedown will be held in the Virginia City Fairgrounds arena, with two stages simultaneously providing non-stop entertainment all weekend.

The fun kicks off Friday night with a concert of tuneful singers and musicians, then plays all day Saturday and finally lets up Sunday afternoon. This gathering is the kind of entertainment western lovers young and old will cotton to. The show features some of the best entertainers around these parts and includes musicians, singers and gunslingers, bullwhip handlers, cowboy poets, old west actors and reenactments.

Headliners are VC’s favorite best known entertainer David John of the Comstock Cowboys, the Frank Garrett Band and Derek Spence who gives a George Strait tribute. Special entertainment includes the Greg Austin Band; a tribute to Johnny Cash by young Carson Chandler; a tribute to Patsy Cline by the Comstock Sweetheart Makala Taylor; and Kim Harris, of the famous Dangberg Ranch in Minden, in character as Calamity Jane. There will be precision bullwhip prowess by Lisa Snow and fancy gun handling by Victor Garcia. Adding to this lineup will be two renown cowboy poets: Tony Argento Jr., and Harold Roy Miller (Horsebard Roy).

Plus there will be four Old West reenactment teams: The Foothill Vigilantes with Harold Bucksnort; the Horse Thief Canyon Desperadoes led by Ross Mortinson; the Nevada Gunfighters; and Old West Legends. They’re all skilled gunfighters and showmen. Though they don’t give in to blusterations, they can sure sling those blue lightnins. The whole kit and caboodle of entertainment should be a fun time for the entire family.