(Kamloops, British Columbia)--- The best little Cowboy Festival in the whole darn West just keeps getting better. Favorite acts will return along with exciting new quality talent. The sound of Cowboy Poets, Western Singer/Songwriters and Guitar pickers will headline a fun filled weekend of western hospitality, competition and entertainment at the Kamloops Cowboy Festival, from March 8th to the 11th, 2007 in Kamloops, British Columbia. Included are a trade show, free workshops, seminars and a Western Art show.

New for 2007 is the "Country 103 Rising Star Showcase". Kamloops Radio Station, Country 103 CJKC-FM is offering enticing prizes in a competition for artists emerging as Western Singers and Cowboy Poets. The first place winner will receive $1500.00 and 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th places will each receive $500.00. Country 103 is also sponsoring song writing workshops.

This year Forster's Conference Centre is the main location for the Festival. The Calvary Community Church will still host daytime entertainment and the main evening feature shows, but there will also be daytime and evening shows in Forster's Conference Centre at the Best Western. A free shuttle service is available.

The dinner theatre Friday and Saturday nights with the Can Can girls is at Forsters Convention Centre. Friday night is theThe BC Cowboy Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and the new Cowboy Heritage Preservation Award at Calvary Church. All weekend Forsters hosts the Western Art and Gear Show with cowboy artists, saddlemakers, custom hats, boots, jewellery, and clothing that will please the shoppers and browsers. Free workshops and seminars include poetry writing, marketing, hat care, a leather and/or saddle workshop, a guitar picking seminar and Cowboy Coffee’s chuckwagon cooking workshop.

New this year is the Alcan Invitational Western Art Show. Two Best of Show prizes will be awarded, a Jurors' Choice and a Peoples' Choice. Each winner will receive a rosette and a $300 cash prize. An Honourable Mention will also be awarded in each category and will receive a rosette and a $200 cash prize. Jurors' Choice will be selected by the three jurors while the Peoples' Choice will be determined by a viewers' ballot. Another new feature is the Western Film Festival showing Classic Hollywood Westerns and Cariboo Country episodes.

“What began as a modest get-together at the Kamloops Bull Sale has grown into the biggest and best cowboy festival in Canada, highlighting western culture”, explains Mike Puhallo, an award winning cowboy poet, historian, Kamloops rancher and president of the B.C Cowboy Heritage Society.

A Thursday night Get-Acquainted party has been added at Forster's for weekend pass holders, volunteers, and performers only. This on stage jam session begins at 7:00 PM and is a great opportunity for people to meet, hear, and socialize with the entertainers.

Weekend passes are $50. A daytime pass, which includes all daytime entertainment, trade show and seminars is $10.00 or $25.00 including the evening performance. The dinner theatre is $50.00 or $20 upgrade to the weekend pass. Festival headquarters is the Best Western Towne Lodge. Special accommodation rates are offered there, and at motels nearby. Take along skis and spend the rest of the week enjoying the local slopes at Sun Peaks.

Not included in the festival is Cowboy Celtic’s performance with the Kamloops Symphony Orchestra on Friday and Saturday nights (March 9 &10 2007) in the Sagebrush Theatre. Cowboy Celtic shows how Celtic music inspired the melodies played around campfires in the wild, wild West.

Special bus tours are being offered from Edmonton and Calgary, Alberta by Anderson Vacations. From downtown Vancouver it takes approximately 4 hours to drive to Kamloops via the Coquihalla Highway. Full service air and rail connections in the city cater to travelers from every corner of the globe. For more information on the Kamloops Cowboy Festival, go to www.bcchs.com , email to cowboys@bcchs.com or phone 1-888-763-2224.

For information on winter vacations, as well as accommodations in the area, call 800-662-1994 from anywhere within North America, or go to the web at www.tourismkamloops.com.

For editorial and/or photographic information, please contact:

Nora Weber
TerraCom Communications Group
Tel: (604) 504 4457
Email: noraw@terracomgroup.net

Lee Morris, CEO
Tourism Kamloops
Tel: (250) 372 8000
Email: lee@tourismkamloops.com