Grab your boots, spurs and cowboy hats: Royal Palm Beach’s West Fest is returning to Royal Palm Beach Commons Park from Friday, Feb. 24 through Sunday, Feb. 26 with singing, dancing, carnival rides, an encampment village and more.
Community & Cultural Events Superintendent Carlos Morales is looking forward to West Fest’s annual return.
“There’s a lot of great things about this event. It’s a three-day weekend. We have three days of carnival rides,” he said. There’s a $20 bracelet providing access to all of the rides for the day, with individual tickets available for those interested in going only on one or two rides.
Throughout the weekend, Morales said, there will be two shows happening multiple times: the Here Comes the Ham Bone Express pig races and the Paul Bunyan International Lumberjack Show.
“These are real live lumberjacks, and they do all kinds of competitions like ax throwing, log rolling and saw cutting. They do a live demonstration in front of the public. It’s interactive, it’s fun, and they’re energetic,” he said. “The live pig races will also be going on live throughout the weekend… It’s really fun and interactive. There’s trivia and all kinds of games and things for people to do. It will be great for the kids.”
The Miss and Mr. West Fest Pageant will take place Saturday at 11 a.m. The children’s craft station, presented by Home Depot, will be available Saturday from 1 to 6 p.m. A cornhole tournament is scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday. The Hitchiti Dancers will entertain Saturday at 4:30 p.m. Ladder golf will take place Sunday at 2 p.m.
“We’ll have all kinds of entertainment that’s country-driven throughout the weekend,” Morales said. “We’ll have a dance floor in front of the stage so if people want to dance, we’ll invite them to come dance.”
Music and entertainment on the main stage starts Friday at 5 p.m. with Train to Rock, followed by Mike Soper Music at 5:45 p.m. and County Line Road at 7 p.m.
On Saturday, starting at 11 a.m. is the Miss and Mr. West Fest Pageant, followed by the Master Ken Martial Arts Academy at 1 p.m., Ben Prestage at 1:30 p.m., the Casey Raines Band at 2:30 p.m., Tobacco Road at 5 p.m. and a Hank Williams Jr. tribute concert at 7:30 p.m.
Starting at 11 a.m. Sunday, Train to Rock will hit the stage, followed by Mike Soper Music at 11:45 a.m., the Emily Brooke Band at 1 p.m., Movement Arts Dance Academy at 2:30 p.m., Ben Prestage at 3 p.m. and the Chad Montana Band at 4:30 p.m.
Food and drink will be available from various food vendors, as well as the Tree’s Wings Swamp Bar. There will be a lot of barbecue, corn on the cob and fair-style food, Morales said.
There will also be a petting zoo with goats, sheep, rabbits and small farm animals, as well as pony and hay rides, horse and carriage rides around the park and people dressed up like cowboys.
The western encampment village will be set up with people dressed up showing how they would survive, the tools that would be used to cook and what life is like trying to survive in the wild west, Morales said.
“We plan on having a bonfire, which should be a great time. There are so many little intricacies that we’re going to be having,” Morales said. “It’s really going to take people walking around to see all of the different elements of this event. It’s so diverse. There are so many activities going on.”
West Fest is a fun, free, family-friendly event that takes place from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25; and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 26.
For more information, visit www.rpbwestfest.com. Royal Palm Beach Commons Park is located at 11600 Poinciana Blvd. in Royal Palm Beach. Outside alcoholic beverages are prohibited.
