Changes are coming to Buffalo's annual Longmire Days festival.
The four-day event celebrates the fictional sheriff Walt Longmire, the central character in a series of books by author Craig Johnson. In 2012, the mystery series was adapted into a popular television show.
The Buffalo Chamber of Commerce has organized the event in the past, but for the upcoming festival, Johnson, his wife, Judy and others will take over.
For the festival, Johnson and the show's actors gather to talk with fans about the series. Johnson based Longmire's town of Durant, Wyoming in Absaroka County on Buffalo and Johnson County.
Jennifer McCormick, who previously worked for the Chamber and helped to organize the event, will also help the Johnsons and said the festival's past success is the reason for the change.
"The event has just gotten so successful and grown so much through the leadership of the Chamber that it needs its own staff basically. It will be an all-volunteer staff. Some people locally, some people out-of-state, some people in the state just not in Buffalo. It's all people who have worked on the event before, and we're just trying to alleviate the pressure from the Chamber from them having to do that," McCormick said.
The celebration draws $2.5-3 million into the community, along with hundreds of people.
"It's great for our community,[…] and we want to see that continue," McCormick said.
She added any money that doesn't go towards the event's expenses goes to different organizations, including a local animal shelter and a veterans charity.
McCormick said they hope to have a date for the 2020 festival set in the coming months.
Have a question about this story? Contact the reporter, Catherine Wheeler, at cwheel11@uwyo.edu.
