A historic Jackson Hole walking tour is hosted by the Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum every Tuesday and Thursday morning from the end of May until Labor Day. Covering a brief history of the town and the colorful characters that helped shape it, the tour provides an entertaining and educational background of the town that has been dubbed the ‘Last of the Old West.” Meet at the Town Square at 10:30am for the free hour long tour.
The Jackson Hole Farmers Market runs in the summer from early July to the first week or so of September. A hub of fresh produce, baked goods, chocolates, teas and coffees, live entertainment and ecletic faces, the Jackson Hole Farmers Market draws visitors and locals to support the talented vendors. Vendors are set up for business from 8-11, but roll out of bed early and make your way to the Town Square because the goods go fast. Support the local market and see what the buzz is about every Saturday morning in the summer.
Spend a few days to extend your summer tour of Jackson Hole and you will find out why Fall is one of the most treasured times in the valley. Crowds thin, temperatures cool and colorful scenery ignites in a final celebration of the warm temperatures as winter looms just above the valley floor. The town transforms into a small, but concentrated, bustle of events and excitement as locals and visitors alike relish Autumn activities, knowing plenty of time to catch up on good books by the fire is just around the corner.
One annual hallmark Fall event is the Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival. Spanning the first few weeks of September, the festival runs this year from September 4-21. “A visual, performing and culinary arts celebration,” the festival has been running for 24 years and draws artists, guests and locals from far reaches to bask in the Teton settings and relax in senesory overload from the festival’s lineup. Browse the Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival calendar to take a closer look at the numerous gallery events, exhibitions and conferences, culinary samplings and parties around town that offer something for all tastes and ages. This year’s featured artist is Greg Beecham, and his painting below was selected to represent the commemorative poster for this year’s festival.
Watch for a few highlights during the Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival on our blog over the next few weeks, but make sure to come experience the excitement for yourself.
Every Monday through Saturday, at the corner of East Broadway and Center Street, just after 6:00pm, cast members from theJackson Hole Playhouse take to the streets to perform the Wild New West Shootout.
The shootout has been a part of the Jackson Hole history since 1957—most people who visit town don’t leave without watching it at least once. The shootout provides wild west entertainment and a slice of history surrounding the cowboy culture of Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Vacationers, locals, tourists, workers, recreationalists, and even those just passing through town on the way to Grand Teton and Yellowstone NationalParks have a hard time missing the shootout, after all, it does take place in the busiest intersection of town in the middle of “rush hour” traffic around Jackson Hole.
But even though most people passing through Jackson Hole at least know about the shootout, very few know about the people who take the time to perform it every night.
The Jackson Hole shootout talent is drafted from the Jackson Hole Playhouse, which puts on a different musical every summer as well a nightly dinner performance. The participants from the Playhouse are split into two groups, and then switch off nightly between the Jackson Hole Shootout and the Playhouse dinner performance.
And why? For fame? Or perhaps fortune? Not exactly. According to one cast member, the performers get paid so little “you could almost consider it volunteer work.”
So why does this group of men and women dress up in Old West costumes every night, learn three different shows, and willingly entertain huge groups of people? “This is an experience I never would have gotten doing anything else,” said the aforementioned cast member. “I get to meet so many people doing this, a lot of them from other countries.”
At first glance, the Jackson Hole Shootout on the Town Square may appear to be a crew of under-paid, widely-talented actors in expensive costumes, singing and shooting fake guns at each other. And in fact this is true, but what you won’t gather from taking in only one shootout, is how dedicated the actors are to their town and performance.
Although the people involved in the Shootout change over the years, there are a few staple ingredients to this story. There are visitors to Jackson who get a taste of what the Old West might have been like. There are locals who know to avoid the corner of Broadway and Center from 5:45 until 6:45 every day except Sunday unless they have guests, in which case they go there anyway. There’s a small town that is home to a mix of diverse cultures set in a quaint western backdrop. And there are performers who practically donate their time to entertain all of these people and to get a reward for themselves that’s better than getting paid. They’re preserving the history of the town and providing visitors, no matter where they’re from, with a unique slice of Jackson Hole culture amid a bustling backdrop of summer activities.
