T.O. FESTIVAL TO SALUTE CULTURE OF THE COWBOY.Byline: Angela Randazzo Daily News Staff Writer Modern-day cowpokes will be spinning tales of the Old West today during a cowboy poetry and music festival to raise money to expand the Conejo Players Theatre. Resident Gary Robertson Gary Keith Robertson (b. 15 July, 1960) in New Plymouth was a New Zealand Cricketer. He played only one Test and 10 one-day internationals for the New Zealand cricket team.. Robertson also played for Taranaki in the Hawke Cup. , the technical director for the Conejo Players, has developed an interest in cowboy poetry over the past few years, making him a popular addition to Western theme festivals all over the country. ``I'm a storyteller, I just put my stories into rhyme and meter,'' said the Oklahoma native, who will be performing during the festival. ``I hope my poems transcend the cowboy setting. Some are funny, some are poignant. The truths they deal with are truths for everybody.'' Robertson believes his storytelling Storytelling Aesop semi-legendary fabulist of ancient Greece. [Gk. Lit.: Harvey, 10] Münchäusen Baron traveler grossly embellishes his experiences. [Ger. Lit. abilities come from the storytelling traditions of his American Indian American Indian or Native American or Amerindian or indigenous American Any member of the various aboriginal peoples of the Western Hemisphere, with the exception of the Eskimos (Inuit) and the Aleuts. mother and Texas-born father. As a youngster, Robertson's family moved around the country while his father pursued an uncowboy-like career in the aerospace industry. The family settled in the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. suburb of Westchester, and Robertson went on to study political science at the University of California, Santa Barbara History The predecessor to UCSB, Santa Barbara State College, focused on teacher training, industrial arts, home economics, and foreign languages. Intense lobbying by an interest group in the City of Santa Barbara led by Thomas Storke and Pearl Chase persuaded the State . After working 12 years for Pacific Bell, Robertson turned in his suit and tie for a cowboy hat and bluejeans. He returned to Oklahoma with his wife, Marianne, and started a horseshoeing horseshoeing that part of the art of blacksmithing to do with making horseshoes, fitting them to hooves, trimming the hooves to fit the shoes. There are two main techniques, hot shoeing and cold shoeing, the former being done beside a forge. business, then managed a ranch for several years. In 1989, when the opportunity to work as a ranch hand at the 600-acre Los De Los Fresnos Ranch in Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. came up, the Robertsons returned to California with their son, Clayton, now a 14-year-old student at Sequoia Intermediate School in Newbury Park. ``I'm really lucky to live the life I do,'' Robertson said. ``I get to work with the animals and work outside. No two days are ever the same.'' The Cowboy Poetry and Western Music show blends cowboy ballads, experiences and humor and aims to inspire the cowboy within us all. ``The image of the cowboy is self-reliance and standing up for what's right,'' Robertson said. ``The cowboy is still here, it's in what you do and who you are.'' The cowboy poetry and music festival will be held at the Conejo Players Theatre, 351 S. Moorpark Road, Thousand Oaks. The 3 p.m. show includes western entertainers Barry Rumsey, Lonnie Warman, Ken Gardon and Jake Copass Jake Copass (b. April 18 1920, d. June 8 2006) was a cowboy poet who lived in the Santa Ynez Valley. He had been working as a wrangler at the Alisal Guest Ranch in Solvang, California since 1946. A native of Texas, he was shocked when he saw the valley. . The 8 p.m. show features Les Buffman, Dave Stamey, Dean Foster and the Buckaroo Balladeers. Tickets are $15 for the 3 p.m. show, $10 for the barbecue and $17 for the 8 p.m. show which will be followed by a reception at 10:30 p.m. Full-day ticket price is $40. Call (805) 495-3715. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO ``I'm a storyteller,'' says cowboy poetry fan Gary Robertson. |
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