Cowboy Cadence : Music and Poetry Readings Draw Crowds to Santa Clarita

SANTA CLARITA — Echoes of Santa Clarita’s Western heritage could be heard clearly Saturday at Melody Ranch in Placerita Canyon.

Boots clumped and spurs rang as hundreds milled through the main street of the ranch, where dusty, wood-paneled buildings advertise telegraph, gunsmith and even undertaking services.

What drew people here was a quiet sound--the low, drawling cadence of cowboy poetry.

“This is incredible,” said Lauren Frank, a visitor from Pennsylvania. “The poets are excellent. The setting is beautiful. I keep waiting for a duel to happen in the middle of the street.”

More than 2,200 people are expected to visit the ranch this weekend for Santa Clarita’s second annual Cowboy Poetry and Music Festival. Organizers hope the event, which completes its three-day run today, will serve as a large-scale tourist attraction for this 7-year-old city.

“We’re having fun,” said Canyon Country resident Henry Gonzales, who attended the festival with his wife and son. “I can’t say that I know that much about cowboy poetry, but we’re learning, I guess.”

A dozen poets and musicians are performing in the main street’s auditorium, offering tall tales that usually focus on traditional values and the land.

On Saturday, offerings ranged from Waddie Mitchell’s, “The Flying Outlaw,” about a man’s attempt to ride a Pegasus, to Wallace McRae’s aptly titled “Reincarnation.” Many of the poets are reading the works of their favorite authors and those who inspired them to write.

“I never had an original thought in my life,” Waddie Mitchell quipped to an appreciative crowd of about 150 people. “(But) I have had some very original friends.”

For vendors, the festival’s most pleasant sounds have come from the cash registers.

“This is not a poverty show, these people are well-heeled,” said Colin Dangaard, whose Australia Stock-Saddle Co. booth was doing a brisk business in full-length duster coats. “I’ve seen a lot of gold credit cards.”

Vendors offered an array of items, from new silver spurs and replica decks of Old West playing cards, to an 85-year-old saddle and “wood chips from the original grave marker of Soapy Smith,” a notorious con man.

“Just to be able to walk down a street like this, it stirs up a lot of fantasies,” Dangaard said. “When everyone is having a good time they’re more likely to say, ‘Aw, what the hell,’ and buy something.”

Dangaard, who normally runs booths at horse shows, said he definitely plans to return next year.

The ranch has been the backdrop of such Westerns as “High Noon,” “Gunsmoke” and 35 John Wayne films.

The cowboy festival offered what is now a rare opportunity for the public to view Placerita Canyon, whose main access road was recently gated by homeowners.

City officials had to secure permission to use the route and assume liability for any vehicle accidents during the time of the festival. Due to the restrictions, patrons had to go to William S. Hart High School in Newhall, where they were taken by school bus to and from the ranch.

The poetry festival will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today.) All tickets have been sold for individual shows, but there is no charge for the cowboy gear show or to walk around Melody Ranch’s main street.