Department of Tourism and State Development
For Immediate Release:  June 2, 2003
Contact:  George Milos (605) 578-1876 or milo@deadwood.org

WILD BILL HICKOK DAYS: A REAL COWBOY ADVENTURE

The true Wild West can be witnessed and enjoyed at the fourth annual Wild Bill Hickok Days, June 13-15 in historic Deadwood, S.D. This cowboy adventure salutes the Old West during a weekend jam-packed with family entertainment. Visitors may thrill to the fast-paced action of fast-draw shooters, gun spinners and horse mounted shooters. Nationally-known country bands Sawyer Brown and Ricochet will perform free concerts.  

The event kicks off at high noon on Friday, June 13 with a Cowboy Cookout and the Easter Seals Celebrity Calcutta Fast Draw Shoot-out Championship. The Wild West Parade wraps up Friday with costumed entertainers, horses, wagons and more. Ricochet hits the stage for a free concert Saturday night after the top gun spinners in the nation show their stuff in the Wild Bill Gun Spinning Exhibition. 

“Wild Bill Days provides the perfect atmosphere for two great free concerts on Main Street. Ricochet and Sawyer Brown are true crowd-pleasers,” said George Milos, executive director of the Deadwood Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau. 

Sawyer Brown performs a free concert Sunday night. This widely known group has had hits such as, “Six Days on the Road, “Some Girls Do,” and “Thank God for You.” 

“You can’t set a better stage than with 200 dressed re-enactors walking our Historic Main Street while Sawyer Brown is playing,” said Milos.

For event information, contact the Deadwood Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau at (800) 999-1876 or visit www.travelsd.com.

Wild Bill Hickok Days has been designated a “Great Event” by the South Dakota Department of Tourism and State Development. With that designation, the department provides assistance to event coordinators and creates and funds promotions for the event. The objective of the “Great Events” program is to boost attendance at South Dakota events and to increase economic impact in host communities.

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Schedule of Events

Friday, June 13 
Noon - Easter Seals Celebrity Calcutta Fast Draw Shootout Benefit, First Gold Hotel
Noon - Cowboy Cookout, First Gold Hotel
4 p.m. - Wild Bill Gun Spinning Championships, First Gold Hotel
7 p.m. - Wild West Parade, Historic Main Street

Saturday, June 14
8 a.m. - Easter Seals Celebrity Calcutta Fast Draw Shootout Benefit, First Gold Hotel
10 a.m. - 5 p.m. National Re-enactors, throughout Deadwood
2 p.m. - Wild West Cook-off, throughout Deadwood
4 p.m. - Wild Bill's Gun Spinning Exhibition, Historic Main Street
5 p.m. - Free concert featuring Spitfire, Historic Main Street
6 p.m. - Free concert featuring Ricochet, Historic Main Street

Sunday, June 15
9 a.m. - Easter Seals Celebrity Calcutta Fast Draw Shootout Finals, Historic Main Street
10 a.m. – Noon, National Re-enactors, various locations
2 p.m. – Free concert featuring Spitfire, Historic Main Street
3 p.m. - Free concert featuring Sawyer Brown, Historic Main Street