40th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering Poster Artist: Don Weller

The poster for the 40th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering was designed by Don Weller and features his watercolor Blowing Cold (2024).

As a boy, Don drew horses and cowboys when he wasn’t exploring with his horse along the Palouse River or rolling hills near Pullman, Washington. After graduating Washington State University with a degree in Fine Art, he sold his horses and moved to Los Angeles where he spent decades doing graphic design and illustration. Clients included Time Magazine, the National Football League, the 1984 Olympic Games, and five stamps for the United States Post Office. Don met his wife Cha Cha while teaching at UCLA. Finally, he had seen all the cement and palm trees he could stand. He and Cha Cha now live in rural Oakley, Utah, with Eddie the border collie, two cats, and three cutting horses.

More of Don Weller’s original artwork will also be featured in the Western Folklife Center’s Wiegand Gallery exhibit Be the Poem. Be the Song. The exhibit will open the week of the Gathering and run through March.

 

Find Gathering merch and memorabilia, as well as products from Gathering performers, artists, and local artisans, in the Western Folklife Center Gift Shop. 

Find us year-round at 501 Railroad Street. Select items also available online and by phone. https://www.westernfolklife.org/shop

During the Gathering, we open a second location at the Elko Convention Center!

 

Event Schedule

The full daily schedule for the 40th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering is out now!

Scan the QR code, go to ncpg2025.sched.com or find it on the Sched app by searching for ‘ncpg.’ 

We’ve added close to 200 daytime sessions and evening shows that are full of the cowboy poetry and music you love, as well as films, discussions, open mics and jams, youth-friendly activities, workshops, and more. We hope the 40th Gathering will make you think, make you dance, and maybe just make you some new friends.