To steal from Mark Twain, the rumors of Wild West Day’s demise may have been exaggerated. The fall event has been held since 2003. It came from an idea by Johnny Ringo that he shared with Paul Rerich and had grown into a signature event for Cave Creek. Recently it been under the auspices of the Cave Creek Merchants Association, who even hold the trademark for “Wild West Days.” However the association is nearly defunct.
When word spread that there would not be Wild West Days this year, local social media page, Cave Creek Infamous Bulletin Board, organized a meeting to try and save the event. Nearly 40 people gathered at Harold’s on Thursday evening August 30. People were enthused about Wild West Days and the attendance was greater that organizers expected.
There still are a lot of challenges to get events together in just over two months. Some of the challenges include insurance, funding, permits, to name a few. The tradition of western heritage and Wild West Days needs to keep going, Paul Rerich said, “It’s important to keep our community and what we have.”
Johnny Ringo, impressed by the turnout, said, “It’s great to see a lot of new faces. People that have been working on it year after year can get burned out.”
The first step will be to see what assistance the Town of Cave Creek can give to keep the project going this year. By next year a 501(c)3 may be formed to be the entity behind Wild West Days. Johnny Ringo, Paul Rerich, and Ellen Alsever will meet with town officials.
Meetings will be held every Thursday evening at Harold’s if you’d like to be part of the group. You can also email Ellen Alsever with ideas, suggestions, questions. [email protected]
