LINDEN, Texas—This year’s Piney Woods Cowboy Gathering will be true to its name, judging by the entertainment and activities lined up for the Saturday, Oct. 4, festival celebrating the cowboy lifestyle.

To be held at the Cass County Rodeo Grounds in Linden, the gathering features singers, cowboy poets, trick ropers and bluegrass and acoustic music throughout much of the day. The main entertainment runs between 1 p.m. and 7:15 p.m., to be followed by a night of rodeo.

Trick roper Burt Hairgrove will show a trick or two, while Lloyd Shelby, cowboy poet, will render the cowboy lifestyle in verse that pictures life on the range. Grady Lee also recites poetry, in addition to singing. He’s from Marshall, Texas, and will also do a chuckwagon show during the day.

The Acoustic Kitchen, with Milo and Rachel Deering, plays at 5 p.m., while Hickory Hill Bluegrass Band rounds out the stage entertainment at 6 p.m.

Deering plays with the band Beatlegras, which performs Beatles tunes with a bluegrass bent. They played recently at Music City Texas Theater.

“Brother Mike Powell is going to be the emcee for the day,” said John Early, who’s in charge of the day’s entertainment lineup.

Hickory Hill is Early’s band, and they’ve been entertaining Texas bluegrass lovers for 29 years.

The Cass County Championship Rodeo Association is sponsoring the festival in partnership with the Linden Economic Development Corp. Cowboy music performer Michael Martin Murphey is not affiliated with sponsoring this year’s festival as he was last year for the first gathering.

The gathering will raise funds for the Cass County Rodeo Arena Building Fund.

The ranch rodeo starts at 7:30 p.m. with about 15 four-man teams. They’ll compete in events like wild cow milking, branding, sorting and mugging.

Gates open at 9 a.m. Vendors, crafts, food and a kids’ rodeo starting at 11 a.m. will all add to the cowboy-themed action.

From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. is the stick horse rodeo. The kids’ rodeo includes mutton busting and steer riding.

“There will be something going on all day,” Early said.

There are bleachers at the rodeo, but it’s a good idea to bring lawn chairs for the entertainment and music events on tap.

Early said the Cass County Championship Rodeo Association hopes to cover the arena someday. And he said the organization also wants to teach the traditional cowboy way of life to a new generation in the area.

“The rodeo puts on one or two rodeos a year and they’re hoping this can become another part of what they’re doing for Cass County,” said Early.



(Tickets: $10 for adults, $5 for children 6 to 12 and free for kids under 6.

More info and tickets: 903-756-7556, 903-562-1255, or www.pineywoodscowboygathering.com.)