Accessibility Tools

Skip to main content
| News

Ridgway Old West Fest Celebrates Original True Grit

2019 marked the 50th anniversary of the release of True Grit, for which John Wayne won his only Academy Award. The first annual Ridgway Old West Fest in 2019, celebrated Ridgway Colorado's brief transformation into Fort Smith, Arkansas, for the filming of True Grit.

The event organizer is the Ridgway Western Heritage Society celebrates Ridgway, Colorado's film, ranching and railroad heritage, and Western arts and culture. The fourth annual Ridgway Old West Fest will be Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022 at the Ouray County Fairgrounds.

  •  The Debby Campbell concert at 7 p.m. in the livestock barn

  •  The Wild West show at 3 p.m. put on by the First Colorado Top Hand Rodeo Drill Team  (75 minutes long)

  • Several Western-themed activities will be offered for people to enjoy after the Wild West show

The Ridgway Old West Fest partner organizations —the Ouray County Ranch History Museum and the Ridgway Railroad Museum — feature events on the same weekend. 
  • The Ranch History Museum's focus will be memorabilia and activities related to How the West Was Won, the 1962 Western filmed in Ridgway. 

  • The Railroad Museum's popular Railroad Days are typically scheduled for this weekend.