The Buffalo Bill Museum is celebrating Bill’s birthday today from noon-4, and admission to the museum is free.
Join the Museum staff at Noon for a ceremonial cutting of the cake by a photogenic collection of Buffalo Bill look-alikes. Then wander through the Museum exhibits, visiting with costumed volunteers as they discuss the Native Americans, buffalo and cowboys that were such a vital part of Buffalo Bill’s life. At 1:30 p.m. the action moves back outside for the annual Buffalo-Chip Tossing Contest. Prizes will be awarded in both an adult and child’s category.
Enjoy a special performance by Susie Knight, named 2014 Female Cowboy Poet of the year by the Academy of Western Artists. Her song, “The Spirit of Buffalo Bill,” is a 2014 AWA Song of the Year nominee.
The Museum is also opening a new exhibit today. Folk, Fine and Funky: Buffalo Bill in Art, includes folk art, fine art, and popular (funky) art depicting one of America’s most iconic characters. Some of the art has been in the museum’s collection since it first opened in 1921 and has not been displayed for decades. Other art pieces have been newly added to the collection in the past five years, such as a rare velvet painting of Buffalo Bill on horseback.
Several works of art are on loan, including a painting of Buffalo Bill taking the “first scalp for Custer” by contemporary Western artist Thom Ross and an unusual depiction of Cody by 19th century British illustrator Alick P.F. Ritchie. The artwork will run the gamut from the serious to the strange but it will all depict Buffalo Bill’s life and legend. For more information call 303-526-0744.
