Western Heritage Festival & clothing exhibit at Dangberg Historic Park in Minden

A free Western Heritage Festival comes to the Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park on Saturday, September 17, beginning at 10 a.m.

The festival will include Dutch oven cooking, a heritage quilting presentation, Chautauquas of local historical figures, honky-tonk guitar and jug music, as well as a day filled with children’s crafts and activities.

Presenters include DebiLynn Smith as “Carson Valley pioneer Anna Harris” at 10:30 am, the Carson Valley Quilt Guild at 11 a.m., Dana Blane as “Donner Party survivor Patty Reed” at 1 p.m. , Mike Trute as “Indian Agent and U.S. Marshall Warren Wasson” at 1:30 p.m., the Northern Sierra Dutch Oven Cooking Group at 2 p.m., and C.W. and Dr. Spitmore, with their guitar and jug, perform “swingy, western, twangy” fun at 3 p.m.

Sponsors are Soaring NV, The Record-Courier, Bently Enterprises, Carson Valley Accounting, Douglas County and the Frances C. and William P. Smallwood Foundation.

Lunch will be provided by the Northern Sierra Dutch Oven Cooking Group and refreshments will be provided by the Friends of Dangberg Home Ranch for a nominal fee.

The gate will open at 10 a.m., and the Festival is a free event for everyone. Presentations begin at 10:30 a.m. with presenters available all day until 4 p.m. when the festival ends.

The Western Heritage Festival is an outdoor event, and visitors should bring their own seating. Dogs are not permitted.

The Park also presents its annual exhibit of historic clothing this week, beginning Wednesday, Sept. 14 through Sunday, Sept. 20. The exhibit is open from noon to 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Admission to the exhibit is $5 for adults, free for 16 and younger.

The clothing exhibit includes visitor favorites, including Gertrude Dangberg’s 1898 wedding gown, the oldest Levi’s in Nevada, and the Dangberg sisters’ fancy dresses from the first half of the 20th century.

Suits and other clothing worn by Fred Dangberg, Jr., from the 1920s-1940s will be shown, and visitors will see a range of men’s, women’s and children’s hats, shoes, jewelry and accessories from throughout the 20th century.

The clothing is displayed in the historic Dangberg residence, which contains the family’s original furnishings.

The park is located at 1450 Highway 88, a quarter of a mile north of the Carson Valley Veterinary Hospital.

For more information, visit dangberghomeranch.org.