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| The Big Bear Valley Gathering is proud to present the
rip roaring, leg slapping, hoot and hollering, of our performers who
will be filling the Performing Arts Center with songs, poetry and
music. This 400-seat theater has only excellent seats and our performers
love entertaining in this terrific mountain center. |
 The Big Bear Cowboy Gathering is proud to announce that RED STEAGALL is coming to the Gathering for one performance Saturday night September 20, 2008!
Red has entertained around the globe for 30 years. He is a recording artist with many hits and more than 200 songs to his credit. His legendary Texas Swing dance music has made him a favorite among cowboys. He is credited with starting Reba McEntire’s singing career. This songwriter is also a TV and movie personality.
Red has a one-hour syndicated radio program “Cowboy Corner” that plays on 170 stations across America. In addition, “Cowboy Corner” is a monthly feature in the terrific western magazine Cowboys & Indians.
Red is the “Official Cowboy Poet of Texas” and the Cowboy Poet Laureate of the City of San Juan Capistrano. He was inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners in the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 2003.
We are honored to welcome Red Steagall to the 2008 Big Bear Cowboy Gathering.
www.redsteagall.com |
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 A solo artist in Texas for five years, Dan's previous 18 years were spent in Nashville Tennessee honing his craft as a songwriter. Dan has penned numerous billboard chart songs including several for mega superstar Garth Brooks. When Dan teamed up with Brooks and Bryan Kennedy to write the #1 smash "The Beaches of Cheyenne", Roberts was off and running. Garth signed Roberts and Kennedy to a two-year deal to open his world tour in 1996-97. The duo opened more Garth Brooks shows than any other opening act in Garth Brooks' career.
His third CD "Viva La Cowboy" received three Grammy Recognitions and featured two chart singles on the Texas Music Chart "I'm the One to Call" and "Swingin' Till We Can't See Strait". "I Love Texas" Dan often says with a smile, "I got here as quick as I could". It seems clear that this cowboy and his music are right at home under the Big Lone Star. However it's not all about what Dan gets out of Texas. This soft spoken man loves his wife and kids and has a big heart for children.
Award winning singer/songwriter Dan Roberts is at the top of his game as the 2004 Terry Awards Entertainer of the Year. His latest gospel CD "Family, Faith & Freedom" is a tribute to the music that has shaped his life. "The winning combination of the music and the mission is what makes it all worthwhile!" says Dan with a warm smile.
www.danroberts.net
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 A multi-award winner in the world of cowboy poetry, Yvonne Hollenbeck performs throughout the United States, captivating audiences in her wake. She is one of the most published cowgirl poets in the West and is not only a popular banquet and civic entertainer, but also co-writes songs with many western entertainers.
A three-generations-old family ranch is home to Yvonne and her husband, Glen. Together they raise angus beef cattle and quarter horses. More specifically, they live 30 miles from Winner, South Dakota, and 50 miles from Valentine, Nebraska, the closest towns with a post office, fire department and grocery store.
Yvonne's poetry reflects everyday experiences that arise while sharing the range with Glen and their neighbors. However, a fleeting moment or simple event may also stir her pen to action. Mostly humorous in nature, her poems take a turn toward the serious side, especially the stories of her mother's and grandmothers' lives. From homesteading to the present, Yvonne often writes about women on the ranches of the Great Plains.
In addition to her presentations of cowboy poetry, Yvonne's program entitled "Patchwork of the Prairie" is one of the finest presentations in the heartland. Yvonne shows her collection of family quilts, spanning 140 years, including her own prize-winning creations. Poetry about quilts and quilters is presented throughout this awesome trunk show, which is enjoyed by men and women alike.
A new project Yvonne is involved with is a collaboration with noted singers and songwriters, Jean Prescott, Liz Masterson, entitled "Sweethearts in Carhartts," and is a tribute to the women of the West, from homesteading to present.
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 As a cowgirl singer/songwriter and native Californian, Nancy has enjoyed performing throughout the State at many Cowboy Poetry and Western Music events. She has always loved cowboys and the music which reflects their lifestyle and heritage.
Nancy was honored in 2007 by the Western Music Association when nominated for two awards for her first CD, “Cowgirl’s Lullabye” which included one of her original songs “Chisholm”.
One of Nancy’s favorite talents is yodeling! Her Dad used to put her between his skis when she was two years old he would yodel all the way down the hill and she would do her best to yodel back. Since then she has developed her own style and it’s something not a whole lot of native California girls can do.
Her songs reflect her love for the West and all things close to her heart like kids, dogs, horses and all the critters that God has put on this earth. Nancy says she is blessed to have the God given talents she has and loves to share them with others. |
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Gary Allegretto ~ “Harmonicowboy”
 When Gary Allegretto was a child his grandfather, a woodsman in the Appalachian Mountains gave him a gift that would change his life ~ his harmonica. It not only became his prized possession but his consuming passion. Endless hours of self-instruction eventually produced songs and a sound that would often take him in his imagination to the far away land of his dreams ~ the American West.
As soon as he reached adolescence, Gary set out to live this dream by traveling west. He studied Forestry and found work as a forester in the mountains of Flagstaff, Arizona and Santa Fe, New Mexico. With a harmonica always in his vest pocket he worked as backcountry ranger and a forest firefighter all over the West. Soon he found himself working and playing harmonica at gatherings on friends ranches where a cattle round up or branding would end with a campfire jam session. In time he was performing on stages of outdoor festivals by day and rowdy cowboy bars by night. These adventures nurtured his already deep love for the mountains, forests, wide-open spaces and western culture. As the old saying goes, “home is where the heart is”, and by moving west at a young age he had come home.
Further down the road, Allegretto’s work as singer, songwriter, and musician has carried him to places around the world. He has been a featured performer at many cowboy poetry and western music shows and festivals. His has given his harmonica workshops at festivals, guest ranches, and events across the country. He can be found playing on (multiple award winning cowboy entertainer) Dave Stamey’s album “Old Friends. His music has been featured in the soundtracks of films and commercials and he has received awards for his playing. Hohner, the world’s top harmonica manufacturer, endorses him. All the same, his favorite way to play is still around a campfire circle with his cowboy friends.
Finally, Gary is the founding director of Harmonikids, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that gives harmonicas & lessons to special needs children internationally. His worldwide relief projects have given music therapy to children traumatized by the Tsunami in Indonesia, to the Hurricane Katrina disaster in New Orleans, and to special needs kids at many points in between. Please visit www.harmonikids.org for further information. |
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Lincoln has traveled the world as a magician, including performing on TV specials in Canada, Japan and the Netherlands. He is a member of the famous “Magic Castle”; Bond was also voted Stage Magician of the Year in 1974 and 1975.
He uses a variety of props, ropes, cards and even an 1800’s classic stagecoach that he makes appear at some of his shows.
Bond says, “I live the tradition”. Adding that he was raised with a Western-type lifestyle. The appeal of cowboys to Bond is that they represent a better pace of life, they ride horses and they’re earthier.
Cowboys, like magicians, also follow a professional code of conduct, Bond says, “When children look at you, they think you are a hero, they know all about the cowboy, and the cowboy is a hero.” |
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 Gary
has been one of Big Bear Gatherings biggest supporters over the years.
We appreciate everything that Mary Ann, his wife, and he did years
ago to help us get this great Gathering started.
As a child in Oklahoma, Gary was entertained with stories, poems and legends told to him by his Grandmother. This began his life-long love of story telling.
Gary has been writing about the daily trials and tribulations of the cowboy and rancher. Gary’s involvement in cowboy poetry comes from his cowboy background. Gary worked on the IOA Ranch in Oklahoma overseeing the cattle, hay and grain operations. He taught Blacksmithing and Farrier Science at the Oklahoma Horseshoeing School. Currently Gary is the Ranch Manager for Greenfield Ranch in Thousand Oaks.
Gary performs throughout the west, has been published in several magazines and can even be seen in the movies.
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 The Big Bear Cowboy Gathering is so honored to have Dave Bourne with us again to kick off each performance with his very entertaining saloon piano music.
Dave have been playing piano professionally since his first job in the Calico Saloon at Knott's Berry Farm in 1958.
He has produced a series of CDs called "Saloon Piano" featuring authentic melodies of the old west. His latest CD, "19th Century
Favorities And Rarities" features Dave on piano, cornet, alto horn, tenor horn, sousaphone, and banjo.
QRS Music has released his Saloon Piano Vol. I for their player pianos. His music can be heard extensively on the HBO series "Deadwood," where he can also be seen as the piano player in the Gem Saloon.
Dave will be playing his saloon piano, melodies from 1845 to 1910, at all three of the Performing Arts Center shows and will also
perform at the Big Bear Valley Historical Society on Thursday. |
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 Jim
has punched cows in over 40 ranches from Montana to New Mexico and California. He
has ridden every kind of “rough string” horse ever known in the cow country.
For years, Jim competed in every one of the rodeo standard events. The events are bull riding, saddle bronc riding, steer wrestling, calf roping, bull riding and bareback. Sometimes he entered all six events.
For the past two years Jim and his wife Connie worked with our students in Big Bear Valley providing the Cowboy Education portion of our Gathering. The kids loved him! He not only talked about roping and being a cowboy; but he also taught cowboy values.
Jim and Connie will be at Big Bear Mountain Saturday and Sunday with his ropes and “calves” so the kids can practice roping. What great fun!
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Michael & Paulette Tcherkassky
 The Big Bear Cowboy Gathering is a very special place for Michael and Paulette! It is where they met 5 years ago. Michael is known as the “Saddle Serenader”
and has entertained on horseback and stage all over the western USA.
Paulette is also an artist, as she hand paints ties. Some of the biggest names in cowboy entertainment sport her ties. Of course, Michael has one or two also!
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