Goldfield Days August 17, 18 and 19.

Goldfield Days Celebration & Land Auction!
August 17, 18, & 19, 2012
Parades, Land Auctions, Bus Tours Of Historic Goldfield, Live Music & Street Dancing, Pet Parade, Antiques, Crafts, Food, Beer Garden, Old West Gunfights, Miner's Liar Contest, Horseshoes, Old Fashioned Children's Games, Western BBQ And MUCH, MUCH More

Drawings Include Fabulous Getaways and Prizes! For More Information Contact
The Goldfield Chamber of Commerce
(775) 485-3560

Goldfield, Nevada was born in a hurry, due to the discovery of Gold in 1902, and grew from two miners to over 20,000 people in just six years. Goldfield lost a significant portion of its population by 1910, not because the gold was gone, but because the cost of mining was too great. As the years have gone by, the fabric of Goldfield's history continues to be wrent and torn a little more each year.

Nevada Northern Railway Museum Train Crew Training

Ely, NV—If you’ve thought about “workin’ on the railroad, all the livelong day,” now is the time to seize the moment.

Nevada Northern Railway needs volunteers in a variety of capacities – Tour Guides, Narrators and Train

Operators/Train Crew. There are plenty of opportunities to get involved and help this National Historic Landmark; one of  Nevada’s six favorite treasures, now featured on the cover of Nevada Magazine

Sat., Aug. 18 is an opportunity to find out more. The free annual Safety Training Session runs about a day
and a half, through Sunday afternoon, Aug. 19. A continental breakfast is offered at 8 a.m. each morning. The Saturday

Class is taught in the Waiting Room of the Nevada Northern Railway (through the Gift Shop). The Sunday
morning class is largely out in the yard. The session ends with a test of the materials.

After one passes, he/she is  eligible to start training on train service – from Fireman and Brakeman to Engineer and Conductor. It is not necessary to   take the training class to be a tour guide, narrator or concessionaire.

Whatever one’s interest, there is certainly a volunteer opportunity available to accommodate it. There is no
major time commitment required – whether a few hours, a few weeks or more, regularly or on call. Any time and effort  will help keep the railroad alive and certainly be most appreciated by all concerned – and make a difference.

One doesn’t need to live in Ely to volunteer with the Nevada Northern Railway.

28th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering

Elko, Nevada—The 28th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering—the nation’s greatest celebration of the American West, its people, culture and traditions—will take place January 30 to February 4, 2012, in Elko, Nevada, a high desert community where ranching has been a way of life for more than a century. The poetry, music, workshops, films, discussions, exhibits and dances that compose the Gathering honor Elko and other rural communities across the West where people work on horseback.

With its strong horse and cattle culture, Elko is a natural place for this celebration. “People always wonder why we hold this event in such an out-of-the-way place at such an inhospitable time of the year,” says Charlie Seemann, Executive Director of the Western Folklife Center, which produces the Gathering. “It’s when ranchers and cowboys are the most available. At other times of the year, they are calving, haying or shipping. This is their event and we want them to be here…and the journey to Elko is part of the experience.”

Once they arrive in Elko, visitors will find an old-time western town with real working cowboys, and much more. The town has a thriving Basque culture and several famous Basque restaurants, all-night casinos, legal brothels, some of the largest gold mines in the world, and incredible views in every direction. “Elko during theNational Cowboy Poetry Gathering is an experience like no other,” explains Don Newman, Executive Director of the Elko Convention and Visitors Authority. “This little town comes alive with people. You can listen to an incredible musician one minute and find yourself sitting next to him or her at the bar swapping stories the next. In addition to the entertainment, people come to the Gathering to make new friends, drink Basque Picon Punch, eat the biggest steak and the best lamb they’ve ever had, shop, people-watch, and have an experience they’ll never forget. And they almost always come back for more.”

National Cowboy Poetry Gathering

The 28th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering—the nation’s greatest celebration of the American West, its people, culture and traditions—will take place January 30 to February 4, 2012, in Elko, Nevada. The Gathering is as much about the music of the West as it is about its poetry, and this year’s event boasts an impressive line-up of musical icons including Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Ian Tyson, Michael Martin Murphey, Mike Beck and the Bohemian Saints, Martha Scanlan, Stephanie Davis, Wylie & The Wild West, Canada’s Tim Hus and the Rocky Mountain Two, Austin’s Hot Club of Cowtown and many more.

“Music has always been essential to the cowboy way of life,” explains Hal Cannon, Founding Director of the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering and an accomplished musician and songwriter. "But the fact is, today's cowboys not only sing to their cattle as they herd them along but they also need to express in song what it has meant to their livelihood to share the range with dirt bikes, condo developers and coalbed methane exploration. At the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, we strive to present western music that is grounded in tradition, both celebrating the romance and the hard realities of the life. This Gathering is about ranching but at its heart it’s about being a westerner in the 21st century, no matter whether you are urban, rural, young or not so young.”

Every winter for the last 27 years, rural and urban people have joined with cowboys and ranchers in the small high desert community of Elko, Nevada, to listen to poetry and music, learn about cowboy culture in the U.S. and around the world, experience great art, watch western films, learn a craft, play music, gather to eat, drink, swap stories and dance the night away. Open-mic sessions, music jams, dances and dance lessons offer opportunities for everyone to participate. The 28th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering will feature nearly 50 poets, musicians and musical groups from the U.S., Canada and Australia, performing on seven stages at four different venues. Programs at the 28th Gathering will focus on the southwestern United States, specifically Arizona and New Mexico—which are celebrating their centennials next year.