Kanab, Utah, salutes Western movie heyday

Kanab is about 200 miles from Las Vegas on U.S. Highway 89. Follow Interstate 15 through St. George to the turnoff to Hurricane on State Route 9. From Hurricane, access Kanab either by continuing on Route 9 through Zion National Park to U.S. 89 and then south to Kanab or by turning in Hurricane onto Highway 59, which becomes Arizona Route 389. At Fredonia, turn north to reach U.S. 89 at Kanab.

Kanab earned the nickname Little Hollywood during the years when studios used the pioneer-era town as a base for stars and crews filming in the area, starting in the 1920s. Using the region’s stunning scenery as backdrops, studios filmed more than 100 movies and many television programs, including the long-running “Gunsmoke,” shot on a permanent set outside of town.

The Western Legends Roundup appears among the 100 best events in the United States and Canada listed by the bus tour industry, a designation that draws lots of tourists to Kanab. They find plenty to occupy their time since activities take place all over town during the Roundup’s busy schedule.

Motorists headed for surrounding attractions such as the Grand Canyon’s North Rim, Lake Powell, Zion, Bryce Canyon National Park or Cedar Breaks National Monument will be routed around Kanab’s Main Street, part of U.S. 89, during the three-day street fair. Others heading for Main Street downtown might include mounted cowhands hazing Texas longhorn cattle to an exhibit and horse-drawn covered wagons on a trek.

The street fair attracts crowds to vendors’ booths filling three downtown blocks and adjacent areas. Visitors strolling the fair find Western clothing, gifts, fine arts, crafts, jewelry, leather items, home goods and more, including plenty of treats and snacks. Two stages at either end of the fair feature Western-style entertainment, music and dances.

Stay long enough and you are certain to witness a shootout staged by cowboy action shooters. The parade at noon Saturday engages crowds with costumed participants in vintage horse-drawn vehicles, equestrian groups and Native American dancers.

The event offers opportunities to hone skills or learn some new ones. Sign up in advance for workshops offered during the Western Legends Roundup. For details, call (435) 644-3444 or visit the Western Legends Roundup website, www.westernlegendsroundup.com. Demonstrated skills include quilting, weaving, spinning, crocheting, knitting, Dutch-oven cooking, blacksmithing, rope making, flint knapping, beading, Western dancing and photography. Children’s activities include a junior rodeo and opportunities to throw a rope, sit a saddle, paint a teepee and more.

The Roundup provides opportunities to meet actors, stunt doubles and others with ties to the movie industry. Some will be on hand to sign autographs. Visitors can have breakfast with the stars during the Roundup.

Kanab honors many Western stars on its walk of fame, where plaques memorialize many who made movies in the area. More of these memorials appear along Kanab’s streets each year.

Bus tours to nearby outdoor sets are available during the festival. Some of the sets left behind after filming have been reassembled in Kanab at a movie town on Center Street. Its museum houses details of movie-making in the area.

Plan to dine in the restaurant at the nostalgic Parry Lodge downtown, where photos of Western stars who stayed at the inn line the walls. Parry Lodge’s old barn now houses a rustic theater where movies made in the area are shown. Visitors planning to stay overnight or longer during the festival should reserve rooms soon. Kanab boasts many motels, bed-and-breakfast inns, guest ranches, RV parks and nearby access to public and private campgrounds.

Margo Bartlett Pesek’s column appears on Sundays.