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CASPER, Wyo. – Visit the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center Aug. 19 and 20 for a weekend-full of exciting events, featuring frontier music and 19^th century blacksmithing demonstrations.

William “Buffalo Bill” Boycott will kick off the weekend with old fashioned frontier music, performing “Along the Oregon Trail” at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday. Each performance is expected to last about 45 minutes and will include songs and stories of pioneers along the Oregon Trail. The program also includes world class yodeling and cowboy poetry.

At 11 a.m. on Saturday, the Trails Center will offer the youth program, “Ferocious Fur Trade” for the young explorers visiting the Center. Participants in this hands-on activity will learn how mountain men trapped beavers and other animals on the western frontier and test their animal identification skills.

From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, the Trails Center welcomes back Wyoming blacksmith Dave Osmundsen to demonstrate the ingenuity and skill of 19^th century blacksmiths. Osmundsen will showcase various blacksmithing techniques by making horseshoe art, frontier knives, cookware, and more. Demonstrations will take place on grounds outside the Trails Center.

Osmundsen has forged wrought ironwork and tools since the 1970s, and in 1976, was selected to forge napkin rings for the White House. In 2004, he founded the Arrowhead Forge School of Blacksmithing in Buffalo, Wyo. His focus includes trade goods related to the 18^th and 19^th century fur trade and sharing his passion with the public.

Events Schedule

• August 19 at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.: Songs along the Oregon Trail
  with special guest Buffalo Bill Boycott
• August 19 at 11 a.m. – Ferocious Fur Trade (Youth Program)
• August 19 and 20: 19^th Century Blacksmithing Demonstrations
  with Wyoming blacksmith Dave Osmundsen
  • Saturday, August 19 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
    • 10 a.m. – Horseshoe Art
    • 1 p.m. – Frontier Knife Making
    • 3 p.m. – Iron Gun Parts
  • Sunday, August 20 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
    • 9 a.m. – Forged Iron Cookware
    • 11 a.m. – Forging an Iron Lilly
    • 1 p.m. – Primitive Fire Starting

Interested in upcoming programs at the Trails Center? Visit the Trails Center’s website at https://www.blm.gov/learn/interpretive-centers/national-historic-trails-interpretive-center or follow BLM Wyoming on Facebook or Twitter. For more information, call the Trails Center at 307-261-7700.

The National Historic Trails Interpretive Center is open 7 days a week from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. MST.
1501 N Poplar St., Casper, WY 82601.
Admission is Free