National Cowboy Symposium and Celebration and National Championship Chuckwagon Cook-off
Lubbock, Texas

When: early September

Where: Memorial Civic Center at 1501 Mac Davis Drive in Lubbock

Every first weekend after Labor Day the city of Lubbock transforms itself into a cowboy capital as a national symposium honoring the western spirit gets underway.

Events: Saddle up for a cowboy cavalcade during the symposium's trail ride, a day-long trek through an untamed West Texas landscape. Sleep under the stars in a camp out with like-minded enthusiasts before gobbling some grub at the cowboy breakfast and hopping on your horse.

Your cowboy boots were made for walkin' to the many concurrent sessions that take place during the symposium. While experts in the area of Texas tales regale audiences with stories in one banquet room, Western warblers pass on the skills needed to be a Texas tunesmith at the symposium's theater.

Horses are held in high regard during the four-day fete, with seminars teaching horse-training methods and an equestrian parade.

Let the beat of a drum draw you to the West Texas Native American Association Pow Wow, where members of various tribes don feathered headdresses and suede moccasins for performances of traditional dances. Indigenous American Indian cuisine will be prepared, and turquoise jewelry and Native American dolls will be among the many items for sale.

Competitions: Cowboy cooks gather round the campfire in a culinary battle for the best meat, beans, potatoes and overall presentation at the annual National Chuck Wagon Cook-off, a Texas-size tribute to the dough punchers of the past.

If the cowboy's concoctions leave you hankering for some down home vittles, join the chow line at the world's largest chuck wagon breakfast on Sunday morning, where you can enjoy heaping helpings of eggs, bacon, sausages and biscuits before nourishing your soul at a non-denominational cowboy devotional service.

Shopping: Whether its a saddle or spurs for your equine companion or jewelry, cowboy-style couture and Texas-themed trinkets for your personal collection, over 200 booths will be brimming with Western wares for souvenir seekers.

For more information:

• visit www.cowboy.org