Coe Hill Wild West Weekend

(We understand that this event has been cancelled)

The Conversation...

Our niece, Catherine Law, loves to design and create authentic period costumes! And, she’s very good at it! When she told Judi and I that she was going to have a booth at an event to sell her period costumes , I asked her where. Our conversation went something like this!

Catherine replied, “at the Coe Hill Wild West Weekend”.
I said, “Where?”.
She said, “You know, Coe Hill!”.Catherine went on “my Aunt and Uncle, Dave and Donna Burke, are two of the organizers of the event. Why don’t you and Judi come and visit it?”.
I said, “Where is Coe Hill again?”
She said “it’s just north of Peterborough in between Apsley and Bancroft.”
“Oh, that Coe Hill!” I said, still confused!
(When we got home I "Googled" Coe Hill and the Coe Hill Wild West Weekend and became better acquainted with them both!)

Finding Catherine...

Anyhow, Judi and I climbed in our car on a sunny Sunday morning and started our trek to Coe Hill and the Coe Hill Wild West Weekend. As I just mentioned, I had checked out their website and it looked like the event was going to be a lot of fun. We arrived in the village of Coe Hill around 11:30 and found the Coe Hill Fair Grounds. This was where the event was taking place. We walked through the Fair Ground gates and found the Wild West Weekend information booth. Here we met our host, Donna Burke. We introduced ourselves and asked where we could find Catherine's booth. Donna led the way to the booth. Catherine, who calls herself, “AUSTEN AUTHENTICS”, was there sitting amongst her wonderful creations! By the way, in case you are wondering, the "Austen" is not a family name but is the name of one of Catherine’s favorite authors Jane Austen.

The Walk About...

After many hugs, kisses and greetings, Catherine suggested that Judi wear one of her period creations. Judi looked great and I took a number of photos of both Catherine and Judi, all dressed up. Being "all dressed up", Catherine and Judi decided to "walk" the Fair Grounds. I tagged along! We left the booth, now being looked after by Catherine’s father, Jim, and the three of us set off to explore the grounds and "show off" the costumes! I stood back while the “girls” wandered in and out of the various vendors booths. After much looking Catherine decided she should get back to her booth to attend to her customers. Judi and I decided to keep on exploring. There were a number of fun activities being offered by the Coe Hill Wild West Weekend, including, roping and archery plus there was a kids play area where kids could "toss various items into the holes". These included "bean bags" and "toilet paper"! Further along, there was a pony ride and a great petting zoo. The animals were all there, patiently waiting to be feed by the kids. We went back to Catherine's booth to see how she was faring.

The "Great Bank Robbery"!

The "Great Bank Robbery” was about to take place, so Judi and I walk to the corral where the robbery was going to take place. We joined others in the stands and watched as two bank robbers rode up along the dusty trail to the bank. They hitched their horses, walked into the bank and robbed the bank teller at gun point. After a few shouts from within the bank, the bandits ran out of the bank, jumped onto their waiting horses and rode out of town! They were quickly followed by the Sheriff and his posse! All ended well, when the Sheriff and his Deputy rode back into town with the bank robbers in tow. The "posse" helped put the “bad guys” into jail. The audience applauded at the efforts of the “good guys”! The Coe Hill Wild West Weekend "Great Bank Robbery" had been a big success, at least for the "good guys" and the audience!

Leaving Coe Hill...

After a great picnic lunch Judi went back to visit with Catherine while I wandered through the Fair Grounds once again. I was just in time to see the Wild West Stage Coach boarding passengers and then “thundering off” on a trail ride. I walked back to Catherine’s booth to find Judi and many others dressed in period costumes. They all decided to "show off" their costumes! They stayed long enough for a few photographs and then started off to “sashay” around the Fair Grounds. Judi, Catherine and their entourage walked the entire grounds, stopping frequently to pose for photographs. They even climbed into an antique open carriages to pose, “hamming it up” along the way by showing “legs”! Other interesting events were planned by the Coe Hill Wild West Weekend organizers for the later afternoon, but Judi and I decided we should start back on the long trek home. After saying our goodbyes, we "mounted" our “air conditioned horse” and "moseyed on out of town"! "See ya soon pardner!"