The Alberta Bair Theater is putting its own unique brand of originality on a new family-oriented event with the first annual “Wild West Soirée,” on Saturday, June 27, in downtown Billings.

The flavor of the Old West will begin with a professional gunfight at High Noon, followed by a Western Street Fair with myriad activities for the entire family, including food, crafts, games, cowboy poetry, storytelling and more, until 5:00 p.m. A Cowboy Murder Mystery Dinner Theater, under tents outside the ABT, will highlight the entertainment from 5:30 -8:00 p.m.; then, kick up your heels at a Western Street Dance, with free live music until 11:00 p.m.
A special attraction to the Wild West Soirée will be the nationally-acclaimed Gunfighters, hailing from Fort Worth Texas, premier cowboy shoot-‘em-up, audience-pleasing entertainers. From their gunfight at High Noon, to hourly quick-draw challenges, to their performance in the Cowboy Murder Mystery Dinner Theater, The Gunfighters will take the crowd on a light-hearted trip back to the American Old West, where laughs fly like bullets and hilarity is the law of the land. When the smoke clears, justice has prevailed to the cheers and applause of a happy audience.
Wearing authentic 1880s-era clothing, gear and guns, their posse of seasoned, professional actors and musicians perform over 1,500 shows a year, and boast of fans that so enjoy them, that they follow The Gunfighters to performances all over the country. Over the last 30 years, they have provided entertainment at major theme parks and other venues.

The Wild West Soirée is a fundraiser for the Alberta Bair Theater, “the best darn theater west of the Mississippi,” says event co-chairwoman and ABT board member Chris Dorr, who emphasizes that the ABT presents exceptional arts performances and outreach events to 85,000 patrons each season, in addition to 28,000 school children. “Strong community support has allowed us to keep ticket prices affordable, while presenting the excitement of the arts to the Big Sky Country,” said Dorr.

Shelley Van Atta, co-chairwoman, said the timing is right for a true Western event of this caliber, which offers activities that appeal to people of all ages: “An event of this magnitude, offered under the beautiful, blue Big Sky of Billings, will be a draw to people throughout the state and region, and will this year and in years to come be an economic boon not only to the Alberta Bair Theater, but to our Magic City as well.”

Entry to the Western Street Fair, featuring gunfights and other activities, is free, as is entry to the Western Street Dance. Tickets to the Cowboy Murder Mystery Dinner Theater are $100. Tables of eight are available. For tickets to the Cowboy Murder Mystery Dinner Theater, or for more information, call the Alberta Bair Theater executive office at 256-8915.