Wild West Expo opens in Claremore

One Green Country town has lassoed a big time event once again. This is the second year Claremore has hosted the Wild West Arts Club's International Expo in Claremore.<br/><br/>It draws people from

Thursday, April 20th 2006, 5:39 pm

By: News On 6

One Green Country town has lassoed a big time event once again. This is the second year Claremore has hosted the Wild West Arts Club's International Expo in Claremore.

It draws people from all over the world and brings a lot of attention to Will Rogers' hometown. News on 6 anchor Craig Day went to Claremore.

He says it's where you can see the skills of the cowboy come alive: trick roping, whip cracking, gun spinning, and fast draw artists - even knife and tomahawk throwing

"All the skills of the cowboy that you used to see in the wild west shows on Vaudeville and on TV," says national director Mark Allen.

The Wild West Arts Club is dedicated to preserving those skills. After ten years in Las Vegas, their annual convention moved to Claremore last year.

The group liked Oklahoma so much, they came back.

"It is absolutely fantastic," said Jim Slade, visiting from England. "Everyone who came last year, from the president on down to the youngest member said that is the best convention we've ever had. The people are the kindest people."

"This is wonderful. This is Will Rogers home place. We feel very welcome here, we feel at home here," says Doug Smith, here from Ohio.

Allen says, "We couldn't have designed this facility here in Claremore any better for this kind of an event."

The event is a big benefit to the city as well. Of the 300 participants at the Expo, only about 20 of them are from Oklahoma. So all those out of state visitors mean a lot to the local economy, and bring Claremore national and international attention which could one day bring more people to visit.

For now, the attention is on the gunslinging, rope twirling and all the other fun of the old west.

The actual competition starts tomorrow at the Claremore Expo Center. You can watch for free.

Then there is a Saturday night wild west show and concert. It costs ten dollars.