Powell will be a buffet of events this weekend with acrobatic airplanes zipping around, tricked out cars on display and on parade, local artists painting downtown, a beer tasting, a mounted shooting competition and more. Four events in all.

The Wings ‘N Wheels Fly-in & Car Show, Plaza Diane’s Plaza Arts Festival, WYOld West Brewing Company’s beer tasting and the Wyoming Desperados’ Battle in the Basin mounted shooting competition. 

“We are trying to coordinate us working together, that is the new thing this year,” said Plaza Diane Coordinator Karen Roles. “Instead of having separate events and people thinking they are conflicting, we are working together to invite people to participate in all of the events of the weekend and not think of them as separate — think of it as a festival weekend in Powell.”

Bus rides from Plaza Diane to the Powell airport will begin at 7:30 a.m. Saturday and run about each hour after that. 

Arts Festival

Plaza Diane’s Plaza Arts Festival is made up of multiple components, Roles said.

There will be an arts and craft fair and live music on the Plaza’s outdoor stage and an urban plein air painting session — all on Bent Street, mostly near the Plaza.

“We will have paintings, photography, ceramics, jewelry, some scarves, metal sculptures and more,” Roles said. 

Live music will be from 4-10 p.m. at the Plaza’s outdoor stage. 

Attendees should expect to encounter many works in progress as artists participate in urban plein air from Thursday afternoon through Saturday. 

“We say urban because they will paint outdoors in the downtown area,” Roles said. “Artists will pick a spot and they will create a painting based on what they are looking at and what is challenging is it is a dynamic scene — people walk and drive through and the artist has to paint the scene even though things are changing.”

The finished works will go on display at 6 p.m. Saturday and many will be up for sale. 

The festival is also the kickoff time for the Plaza’s latest featured artist, Karyne Dunbar of Shell. Her works will go on display at the Plaza on Thursday with an opening reception from 7-8:30 p.m. and will remain on display until Sept. 12. 

Beer tasting

Master Brewer Tony Wickham will be around for a meet and greet with the public to answer questions about brewing starting at 5 p.m. Friday and sampling will occur on Saturday.

Beer connoisseurs will have a chance to sample about 10 different varieties of beers brewed in the region at Plaza Diane from 2-6 p.m. on Saturday. Samples will be dispensed outside their shop on Bent Street with a fenced-in area so beer can be drank while exploring the festivities. 

Minors won’t be allowed around the beer dispensing area, but the entire weekend is a family-friendly event, Roles said. 

The beers up for sampling will not include WYOld West’s brews since their equipment just arrived last week, Wickham said. 

“I will make sure to have a good variety of light to dark (beers) so everyone can enjoy something,” Wickham said. “I am sure the ones they taste will be available to buy in the back (of WYOld West).” 

Wings ‘N Wheels Fly-In & Car Show

The Wings ‘N Wheels Fly-in airshow and car show got its start as just a car show 15 years ago and the air show was added in about five years ago, said coordinator Mike Martin. 

This event will kick off with a scholarship benefit pancake breakfast with the Experimental Aircraft Association from Cody on Saturday at 7 a.m.

Last year’s car show featured around 100 vehicles from across Wyoming and the region. Registration goes up through the day of the show, Martin said. 

Sponsors of the car and air show will judge the entries and trophies will be presented at 2 p.m.

The cars from the show will be invited to drive downtown at the end of the car show so there will be a line of cars driving down Bent Street around 3 p.m., Roles said. 

The airshow will feature several planes and talented pilots starting at 11 a.m.

Among the bunch will be a P-51 Mustang, a World War II fighter that was featured in air races in Reno, Nevada. 

“It goes really fast, I believe he is pushing 300 miles per hour,” Martin said. “Everything will be happening down by the crowd.” 

Erickson Air will also take to the sky with Brad Worsten in a MXS-R and Todd Therp in a Pitts plane with a low-level acrobatic show very close to ground-level. 

“It does about anything you can force it to do,” Martin said. 

Worsten will also do flights for Elevate Your Life to promote youth.

“It’s to know you can do anything you want if you set your mind to it,” Martin said. 

Middle school students can write essays answering four questions, and the top two selected by the pilot will get to take a flight. 

Essay submissions are due by Friday. Interested middle school students may call Martin at 899-5528 or Debbie at 754-5234.

Admission to the event is $5 per person or $20 per carload. 

Mounted shooting competition

While festivities are underway downtown and at the Powell airport, the Park County Fairgrounds will have guns blazing for the Wyoming Desperados Battle in the Basin mounted shooting competition. 

The shootout begins Friday at 5:30 p.m. with a charity jackpot to benefit the Boys and Girls Club of Park County. Admission to the shootout is free for all ages. 

“It is really fun and anyone can get involved — you don’t have to ride,” said Powell mounted shooter Nicole Singbeil. “You go over bridges and do crazy stuff, we had balloons hanging from a wire and it was super fun.” 

Riders will have an option for three buy-backs, so if their run goes badly they can pay to compete again. Or, if their ride is good, someone can pay to make them do it again — and all proceeds go to the Boys and Girls Club.

The real competition will kick into gear on Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Park County Fairgrounds as about 30 mounted shooters from across the region fire at balloon targets while navigating complicated patterns in the arena. 

“We hope for a crossover with people participating,” Roles said. “The idea is people are coming to town and might as well take advantage of the options for family fun.”

Saturday’s portion of the shootout should be done by about 2 p.m., Singbeil said. Music will follow the competition that evening. 

Then on Sunday, the main match will resume at 9 a.m. followed by a rifle and shotgun competition.