The 4th Annual Cowboys and Indians festival was a special one due to the combination of a blazing fire on a starry night, tasty foods, good weather, good spirits, ice cold beer, and great music.
This classic event is hosted by Emmanuelle, and her two daughters, Sacha and Arielle – their French taste and classic, easy-going nature is the main reason why this event is so unique. Cowboys and Indians is set on a ranch with old, classic wagons parked around the property.
I wandered the ranch enjoying the horses, goats, chickens, and dogs.
Showing up early allowed me to hang out with Patrick while he cooked up a curry lamb stew with spices from his homeland, South Africa, which brought an aroma of officialdom to the tribal area.
We cracked open a few beers and watched Emmanuelle, Sacha, and Arielle work hard setting up the festival and creating a comfortable vibe with rugs and pillows around the fireplace and cooking areas.
Real cowboy-Brad cooked cream cheese stuffed peppers wrapped with bacon and some other tasty meals as well.
This year we had some musical performances on the new stage that was built from an old seed cleaner left on the ranch. DJ Sacha decorated the stage, set up the music equipment, and kept the fresh dance-beats moving our tribal council into dancing spiritual waves.
Cowboys and Indians swarmed around the fire in their hottest tribal attire and then got cozy and bundled around Arielle’s red-feathered coat.
Doctor Monte was all cowboyed up in good spirits.
More vaqueros and indians drifted into the party after the sun went down. New tribal members joined as we passed the peace-pipe and released our wild spirits into the clear night while the hungry coyotes howled in the distance.
Sunrise came and some of us got a few hours of shut-eye, Emmanuelle was back in her work gear and cooking a big breakfast for the tribe with fresh eggs from her chicken coop.
Sarah and Olivia, the inseparable sisters, were constantly in good spirits.
All of us made new friends.
Emmanuelle was constantly the extraordinary host and tribal leader, directing all the indians and cowboys to do their part in keeping this tribal party alive. When I first arrive to the festival she quickly managed her crew to put up a massive Indian tee-pee.
All cowboys and Indians camped out in the tribal area, and of course Sacha has the coolest tent set-up of us all.
However, Milla, was a top contender on the coolest Indian Tee-Pee.
A special thank you to all festival participants this year. To all my fellow Indians, thank you for a positive, tribal vibe and good relations with those dirty vaqueros.
Thank you for all the great cowboy action on the shooting range!
A special thanks to the hardest working host in the world, Emmanuelle! Thank you for a wonderful festival this year, I can hardly believe how you make this festival better every year.
Some of us had a rough time waking up. Okay, where is my coffee?
*A special note to all Cowboys and Indians: Thank you for having a safe festival this year and recognizing the importance of fire-safety. A few ponchos got very close to the hot, blazing fire and we are lucky that there were no Indian burns this year! I hope to see all you native, Angeleno Indians and cowpunching cattleman next year.
THE END
SWEENEY 