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The Stockmens Foundation bringing 'Bunkhouse Bonanza' event to Cochrane Jan. 20 and 21.

Scott Grattidge and the Stockmens Memorial Foundation are pulling out all the stops to make next weekend’s Bunkhouse Bonanza an event to remember, in more ways than one.
percherons
Two Percheron horses from Fleetwood Farms will be pulling the sleigh at the Bunkhouse Bonanza.

Scott Grattidge and the Stockmens Memorial Foundation are pulling out all the stops to make next weekend’s Bunkhouse Bonanza an event to remember, in more ways than one.

The foundation is holding a multi-faceted, multi-venue, two-day event Jan. 20 and 21 to celebrate Cochrane’s strong roots in the livestock industry as the home of the first large-scale cattle ranch in Western Canada.

The wrap-up will be a concert at the Lions Centre Saturday night featuring Cochrane’s favourite country star George Fox, who grew up on a ranch north of town and went on to be inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in 2022. The opening act is Over the Moon, a band from Longview, Alta.

It will be a step back in time in another way, as the Cochrane RancheHouse will once again be the centre of activity.  The Western Heritage Centre was located there until 2000.

“Stockmen’s is happy to host and thanks to the federal grant, we’ve been able to assemble a whole bunch of people to really celebrate and turn the RancheHouse back into the Western Heritage Centre just for a couple of days, for people to get together and celebrate our western history,” Grattidge said.

Drawing from his first-hand experience of cowboy life, Douglas Rawling’s six books paint beautiful images of the landscape and lifestyle of the western frontier. His books pull the reader into gripping stories often sprinkled with Biblical truths.

Rawling is from Willow Valley, Alta. (northwest of Lundbreck) where he is a range rider, author, singer-songwriter and in his spare time, an Anglican priest.

He will be reading, singing and doing whatever else comes to mind at the RancheHouse.

He said he doesn’t get bored and constantly has ideas floating around his head, making it difficult to stay focused from time to time.

“It’s hard to concentrate on practical things when you have melodies in your head,” he said. “I have a practical wife so we make a good pair.”

Grattidge promises the Bunkhouse Bonanza will be as authentic and hands-on as it gets. Western authors and cowboy poets – check. Saddle making – check. Rawhide braiding – check. Indigenous activities – check. Roping and rope-making – check. Eighty pounds of prairie oysters – check. Horse drawn sleigh rides – check.

Wait, what? Back up that sleigh – 80 pounds of prairies oysters?

As executive director, Grattidge is no stranger to creative thinking when it comes to rounding up new ideas to promote local tourism in general and Stockmen’s in particular.

He said after a trip to Prince Edward Island, he was impressed with how much a fictitious character – Anne of Green Gables – stimulated tourism there. He was even moved to read the book when he came home.

A bit of brainstorming with a Stockmen’s co-worker who is a member of the somewhat dicey, time-honoured tradition called the Sourtoe Cocktail in Dawson City, Yukon, led to Grattidge’s latest idea. To be unveiled at the George Fox concert Saturday, he’s dubbed it The Greenhorn Cocktail.

The unique, fundraising western heritage drink/hors d’oeurve will go for $20 to those willing to Cowboy Up and engage all five senses.

It goes like this: a piece of rawhide will be lightly singed to provide the ambient aroma of a branding corral. A Caesar cocktail adorned with a “prairie oyster” (also known as a calf testicle) is presented to the customer. A somewhat distressed mooing noise is heard. Then it’s down the hatch, and a certificate of authenticity is earned by swallowing the oyster to the satisfaction of the judge.

It’s not your average cup of tea, but mild compared to the Sourtoe Cocktail in Dawson City. Established in 1973, the Sourtoe Cocktail has become a time-honoured tradition in that northern community. At the Sourdough Saloon, customers pledge the ‘Sourtoe Oath,’ watch as a (genuine) dehydrated toe is dropped in the drink, and knock it back to earn membership in a club that, to date, has over 95,000 members, hailing from every corner of the world.

The most important rule, according to the bar’s website, is “You can drink it fast, you can drink it slow, but your lips have gotta touch the toe.”

(History and culinary buffs can learn more about feisty rum-runner Louie Linken and his brother Otto at dawsoncity.ca/sourtoe-cocktail-club).

The Bunkhouse Bonanza in Cochrane will feature various community groups highlighting what they do, with the back-drop of western ranching and Indigenous culture.

On Friday Jan. 20, local junior-high school students are invited to tour the different exhibits and displays to allow for relevant education around local history.

The event opens up Saturday to the entire community to experience the exhibits, displays and musical performances.

Some of the other activities will include how to tie a diamond hitch to load a pack horse, and a western dress-up photo booth.

MacKay’s Ice Cream, celebrating their 75th anniversary this year, will be bringing traditional ice cream.

The event is funded by the Commemorate Canada Reopening Funds grant from Canadian Heritage along with the Bow RiversEdge Campground and the Town of Cochrane.

The entire event is free of charge to attend, including the George Fox concert at the Cochrane Lions Event Centre. The concert already has a wait list. To get on the wait list, email [email protected].  

Friday is set aside for pre-registered school groups. The general public event runs on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.


Howard May

About the Author: Howard May

Howard was a journalist with the Calgary Herald and with the Abbotsford Times in BC, where he won a BC/Yukon Community Newspaper Association award for best outdoor writing.
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