MARK WAITE / PVT Phil Hider, a member of the Pahrump Cowboy Shooters, nails up a mock storefront for a barber shop in Boom Town, the recreated western village that will be the setting for the Wild West Extravaganza this weekend next to the Saddle West Hotel and Casino parking lot. He gets help from Pete Alfred. Advertisement

The Wild West Extravaganza this weekend, Sept. 19-21, now in its eighth year, began as a weeklong build-up to the annual Harvest Festival, now called the Pahrump Fall Festival.

The first year in 2001, people sat on hay bales in the parking lot of the Pahrump Nugget Casino, watching clogging groups perform on a weekday night. The weekend before, the first Pony Express reenactment took off from the LongStreet Inn and Casino in Amargosa Valley, a 34-mile ordeal for some riders through Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge to the Saddle West Hotel and Casino in Pahrump.

Now the Wild West Extravaganza is taking on a life of its own almost as big as the Fall Festival itself -- the first of two back-to-back weekend celebrations.

The eighth Wild West Extravaganza is staged out of 'Boom Town,' a recreated western village that looks like the setting of Gunsmoke, complete with mock store fronts adjacent to the Saddle West parking lot.

Like many other annual events in Pahrump, including the Cinco de Mayo celebration and the Pow Wow, it's grown in popularity over the last several years.

Pahrump residents are encouraged to add to the mood, by dressing up in western wear for the event. Cowboy shooter reenactment groups will stage mock shootouts throughout the day at Boom Town. A teepee will mark a recreated Native American village. The 4-H Club will have a petting zoo.

The Wild West Melodrama this year will feature Inspector Incognito and the Kansas City Kid. The plays are scheduled at 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday, along with a matinee at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Saddle West show room. The Saturday and Sunday evening shows are $20 and include a buffet. The Sunday matinee doesn't include the buffet and costs $5.

The Pony Express reenactment will take off from the Windrock Ranch this year, at the western end of Bell Vista Avenue just before crossing the hill into Amargosa Valley. Last year some riders complained about the stony ride from Crystal up to Highway 160, though many thought the Friday evening pre-ride festivities at the Short Branch Saloon were the most fun ever.

This year, the StageStop Casino will host the pre-ride festivities Friday night, with a band and a catered dinner by Romero's North Restaurant. There will be parking for recreational vehicles at the Windrock Ranch the night before the trail ride and a cowboy camp.

After a breakfast of biscuits and gravy at the Windrock Ranch at 6 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 20, riders will saddle up and hit the trail. The route is a shorter, 18-mile path this year through some private property. There will be a lunch at the StageStop at 11:30 a.m.

Souvenir hunters can purchase a commemorative envelope for $5 at the Pahrump Valley Chamber of Commerce and send a letter via the Pony Express. The names of the addressees will be announced after the riders bring the mail bag down Main Street at Boom Town.

That's the same cost of sending a half-ounce of mail cross country on the original Pony Express, which lasted from 1860 to 1861.

With the shorter route this year organizers expect the mail should arrive about 3 p.m.. Last year's riders didn't arrive until dusk.

Debbie Strickland, an organizer of the trail ride, suggested people who aren't accustomed to riding their horse a long way could just ride from the Windrock Ranch to the StageStop, or leave from the StageStop to the Saddle West. The riders entry fee is $25 which includes a commemorative hat pin, Pony Express envelope, a bandana, lunch and breakfast.

Doug Shaw, Pony Express committee chairman, said the sign-ups have been a little slow so far, but last year 25 riders signed up the day of the ride. A Buffalo Soldier reenactment group from Las Vegas will join the ride in their blue uniforms.

"We'd like to have as many riders as we can get. This is a fundraiser for the chamber. It's also one of the main events of the Wild West Extravaganza. All the riders like to make the grand entrance into Boom Town to deliver the mail," Shaw said.

"Last year it was a tough trail but everyone enjoyed the ride coming in out of Crystal, past the old mine country. It's pretty scenic back there," he said.

Members of the Nye County Sheriff's Auxiliary will provide an escort, though Shaw said trail riders will avoid congested streets and have received permission to cross some private property. The amateur radio club will handle communications. The ROTC will again help with logistics, carrying water for the horses.

The Civil War skirmishes were an added attraction last year in Boom Town. The Las Vegas group that put on the mock battles won't make the trip this year, said Walt Rubio, organizer of the event. But Rubio said a handful of enthusiasts dressed in Civil War uniforms will be on hand to answer questions, bringing along two cannons and an automatic Gatling gun.

The Civil War group is appropriate for a Wild West show in Pahrump, since Nevada was declared a state on Oct. 31, 1864, when President Abraham Lincoln wanted another Union state.

The festivities at Boom Town begin at 10 a.m. Saturday with Gospel Joy. The band Desert Knight takes the stage at 11:30 a.m., followed by the Nevada Silver Tappers and the High Desert Line Dancers. Dean West and the Smokin' Gun Band follows at 2:30 p.m., then the Dancing Step Follies and Sun Country Cloggers. Midnight Country takes the stage at 6:30 p.m. followed by Lion Dancers.

The presentation of the third annual community service award by the Pahrump Valley Chamber of Commerce takes place at the start of the evening show Saturday. Last year the recipients were Bob and Joyce Baker. The first year it was given to Jack Reeves.

The Sunday entertainment at Boom Town begins with Sunday services at 9 a.m., Gospel Joy takes the stage at 10 a.m., followed by the Rick Scanlin Band. Rocky Creek will be the final act at 1:30 p.m.