History of the Gathering
Authentic, entertaining, inter-generational: there’s nothing like the Old Sheepherders’ Gathering at the Border Inn on the Utah-Nevada state line! Great Basin Heritage Area Partnership co-founder Denys Koyle first hosted the event in 2003 to say “thank you” to the herders who kept her business afloat in the slow winter months. After dinner that first year, attendees began talking about their days on the desert and the tradition of the annual story-telling event was born. Recent gatherings have expanded to include professors, students, photographers, and film-makers interested in the history and culture of raising sheep in the Great Basin Desert. Every January, sheepherders and their families from across western Utah and eastern Nevada converge at the state line for a weekend of comradery. But the event is more than mere reminiscing: the Gathering is a venue for passing on history to younger generations and sharing a bit of sheep industry culture with the non-initiated. Friday’s buffet dinner is for sheep folk, but the open-mic program Friday night and all of Saturday's events (the musical entertainment, Basque family-style dinner, and the Sheepherders’ Ball) are open to the public.