Headed to Rembert’s Black Cowboy Festival this weekend? Here’s what to know.
.jpg "Donna, left, and Johnny Cuthbertson sell cowboy boots at the 29th annual Black Cowboy Festival in Rembert, South Carolina. They travelled from Cleveland, North Carolina to attend all four days.")
REMBERT, S.C. – RVs lumber down the long, dirt driveway of Greenfield Farms, people from across South Carolina and beyond drawn to the quiet farm by the promise of rodeo shows and celebration of a history long erased.
“Everybody is excited about seeing Black cowboys,” Sandra Myers, co-founder of the annual Black Cowboy Festival, said. “They’re learning about them, but they hadn’t seen them, so their thing is ‘I want to come, I want to see them ride, I want to see my people.’”
The Black Cowboy Festival, now in its 29th year, has grown to host an estimated 4,000 attendees across four days of events – the most popular being the rodeo events and horse competitions that will dominate the schedule on Saturday.
“It’s gotten bigger and bigger and bigger,” Myers said. “If you’d asked me 29 years ago whether we would be where we are today, I couldn’t imagine.”
The growth of the festival, and the Myers family, has shaped the event into an intergenerational effort.
Sandra and Mark’s granddaughter, Shay Dennis, has been tasked this year with collecting the $5 parking fee from arriving guests who will not be staying the night in the farm’s small RV park. She loves sharing the experience with her family and people from around the country.
“Everybody just wants to come out just to see our little family and our big old farm,” Dennis said. “It makes me happy, and it makes my soul smile.”
The festival kicked off with Education Day on Thursday, which included agricultural training from USDA representatives and presentations on the history of the Black cowboy in America. An estimated quarter of all cowboys were Black, according to the Autry Museum of the American West, but cowboy movies and TV shows have generally only depicted white men in these roles.
Myers feels the education piece is crucial to the festival.
“This is the only way people get along,” Myers said. “It’s what you don’t know that you’re afraid of.”
Owners of cowboy boot vendor Boot Heaven, Donna and Johnny Cuthbertson, have joined the festival for the first year from Cleveland, North Carolina.
“We’re hoping we get invited back, and then we can bring some more people, the grandchildren,” Donna said. “I’m sure they will love this.”
The rodeo begins Saturday at 10:30 am. Tickets for rodeo events may be purchased at the gate, with prices starting at $22 and varying by event. Tickets for the nighttime soul jam are sold out. Sunday activities include a church service and brunch.
The Rembert forecast predicts rain starting in the late afternoon, but the Myers say the show will go on through light rain. Please monitor the festival website or Facebook page for more immediate updates.
With low traffic, the farm is about a 50-minute drive from downtown Columbia, but event traffic might add time to the journey.
“We make everybody feel at home,” Dennis said. “Come out, have fun, and enjoy the show.”