GREENVILLE – The 8th Annual Annie Oakley Western Arts Showcase is gearing up for five shows at the Darke County Fairground Coliseum during Annie Oakley Days featuring two western performers from NBC’s America’s Got Talent. Showcase presentations begin at 7 p.m. on Friday evening and extend to include shows at 2 and 7 p.m. on Saturday with 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. performances on Sunday.
Headlining each show will be a sampling of America’s most skilled western artists lead by the event’s producer, award-winning bullwhip artist, instructor, and writer, Gery L. Deer. Deer is the managing director of The Whip Artistry Studio in Jamestown, Ohio, the only permanent facility in the country dedicated to the non-combative study of the whip as a performance art and sport.
Deer’s whip artistry work has been featured on numerous national television programs including the first season of NBC’s America’s Got Talent, the CW’s Steve Harvey’s Big Time, The Bonnie Hunt Show and the PBS program, Our Ohio. He has been the producer has produced and directed the showcase events at Annie Oakley Days since 2003.
Also performing will be world champion whip artist Chris “The Whip Guy” Camp of Illinois. Camp has appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno as well as the 2009 season of America’s Got Talent. He is best known in the world of whip artistry for his “Musical Whips of Wonder,” a rhythmic whip cracking routine set to music.
Each showcase will also include champion knife thrower Kirk Bass who teams up with wife Melodee in the suspenseful “Bass Blades” impalement show. Bass is a certified thrown weapons instructor with the International Knife Throwers Hall of Fame and the assistant director for the Western Arts Showcase events.
Saturday night a special showcase performance will be hosted by The Brothers & Co. Entertainers music and variety group from Jamestown, Ohio. Often compared to The Statler Brothers or Oak Ridge Boys, “The Boys In Black” will be providing musical and comedy interludes between acts and acting as the masters of ceremony for the largest show of the weekend.
As an added bonus, the Society of American Whip Artistry exhibition competitions will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday just before the afternoon show. All of the participating whip artists will compete in speed and accuracy, whip fast draw and more.
All performances are included with admission to the festival. For more information go online to www.ohiowesternarts.org or call (937) 902-4857.
Complete Schedule
Complete Show Schedule – All performance on the west end of the Coliseum at the Darke County Fairground:
Friday July 24, 2009
- 7 PM – Showcase Performance (apx 1 hr)
Saturday July 25, 2009
- 9 AM Open Practice
- 1 PM – Exhibition Contests Begin
Roping Style Exhibition / Most Unusual
Whip Speed & Accuracy
Bullwhip Speed Switch
Bullwhip Fast Draw
- 2 PM Showcase Performance
- 7 PM The “BIG” showcase … hosted by The Brothers & Co. Entertainers – All performers. (Apx. 1.5 hrs)
Sunday July 26, 2009
- 11 AM Public Showcase (Apx 45 min.)
- 2 PM Public Showcase (Apx 45 min.)
