Professional Whip Artistry Training & Entertainment

Professional Whip Artistry Training & Entertainment


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  • 2022 American Western Arts Showcase at Annie Oakley Festival

    Posted on April 30, 2022 6:11 am by gdeer

    American Western Arts Showcase at Annie Oakley Festival

    Darke County Fairground, Greenville, Ohio

    Greenville, OH – Entrepreneur and professional whip artist Gery L. Deer and thrown weapons expert, Kirk Bass, of Xenia, will lead a full troupe of Wild West arts experts during the 2022 American Western Arts Showcase at the Annie Oakley Festival, on July 29 and 30 at the Darke County Fairground in Greenville, Ohio. The event is free and open to the public.

    Presented in the spirit of the stage-style Wild West shows of the late 19th Century, each production will include some detailed history of how these arts came to be and who still practices them today. In addition to performing, Gery Deer is also the show’s producer and chief backer.

    “This is a one-of-a-kind show in this region,” Deer says. “We have some of the best Wild West arts entertainment anywhere in the Midwest with real practitioners of each skill,” says Deer, who started the event in Jamestown, Ohio, in 2002. “These are talented performers with genuine ability, no fakery, no tricks. Everything you see in our show is real and all of our shows are in 3-D and high definition!”

    Champion knife thrower Kirk Bass, of Xenia, Ohio, is co-producer of the event. He and his daring wife Melodee are among the performers to take the open-air stage for a series of western arts perform the suspenseful Bass Blades impalement show, and much more.

    Whip marksmanship competitions headline the afternoon show beginning with the Whip Speed and Accuracy Exhibition Competition, the world’s first Bullwhip Fast Draw contest. Plus, there is a brand new contest taken straight from the big screen.

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    In the spirit of Dr. Jones’ proficiency, this year’s Showcase competition will include a special “blind fast draw,” where whip artists must mimic the move used in the film to turn, draw their holstered whip and shoot at a target with speed and accuracy. In 1981, a fedora-wearing, leather-clad archaeologist threw the crack heard round the world when he “whipped” a pistol from the hand of a jungle guide. At the beginning of “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” Indiana Jones demonstrated his skills with the holstered fast-draw of a 10-foot bullwhip, all while having to spin around to take aim first.

    “With the popularity of Indiana Jones among western performers, particularly whip artists, it’s odd this hasn’t been done before,” says Deer, who holds multiple, national whip speed and accuracy titles and is the director of The Whip Artistry Studio, the only permanent whip training facility in America.

    The event is sponsored by GLD Enterprises Communications, Ltd., The Whip Artistry Studio and the Annie Oakley Festival Committee. All performances are family-friendly and presented on the grounds of the Annie Oakley Festival. For links to the festival and sneak previews of the performers plus more information go online to ohiowesternarts.org.

    Production video from a few years ago showing some of the events

    Whip cracking, trick roping, knife throwing exhibitions going on throughout the day as well as educational sessions to learn about the Wild West Arts and how these performers are working to keep them alive today.

    FULL SCHEDULE

    Friday:

    • Space opens at 10 AM.
    • Informal workshops, practice, and demonstrations throughout the day.

    1:oo PM American Western Arts Showcase Performance

    • Bass Blades Knife Impalement Show
    • Gery L. Deer – The Whip Artistry Studio Show
    • Special Guests and More!

    4 PM American Western Arts Showcase Performance

    • Bass Blades Knife Impalement Show
    • Gery L. Deer  – The Whip Artistry Studio Show
    • Special Guests and More!

    Saturday:

    • Space opens at 10 AM.
    • Informal workshops, practice, and demonstrations throughout the day.
    • Contest Practice

    12:00 PM American Western Arts Showcase – Whip Marksmanship ContestsWhip Speed & Accuracy Exhibition Contests

    • Speed & Accuracy
    • Speed Switch
    • The World’s FIRST Bullwhip Fast Draw competition – Started in 2000, we’ve been the lead on bullwhip fast draw since!
    • PLUS! The Indiana Jones-styled turning fast draw contest, just like you see in the opening of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Contestants will use an 8-foot or longer bullwhip to face off against each other in an effort to recreate the dramatic first crack by Indiana Jones.

    1:30 PM American Western Arts Showcase Matinee Performance

    • Bass Blades Knife Impalement Show
    • Gery L. Deer  – The Whip Artistry Studio Show
    • Special Guests and More!

    4 PM American Western Arts Showcase Performance

    • Bass Blades Knife Impalement Show
    • Gery L. Deer  – The Whip Artistry Studio Show
    • Special Guests and More!

    Exhibitions and practice sessions are open to public audiences throughout the afternoon.

    Sunday: From 12 Noon until 3:30 PM Gery Deer Indiana Jones-Styled Bullwhip Shows

    Showcase producer Gery Deer will perform solo doing some Indiana Jones-style shows, talking about how the arts practices by Annie Oakley and her contemporaries were so important to the film industry!

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  • Mark your calendars – 2016 Annie Oakley Western Arts Showcase!

    Posted on February 6, 2016 12:50 pm by gdeer

    GREENVILLE, OH –  The Annie Oakley Western Arts Showcase events will be two days this year, Friday July 29 and Saturday, July 30, 2016. All events begin at noon on Friday with open workshops and impromptu demonstrations and a full performance tentatively set for 6PM! On Saturday, everything starts at 1 p.m. with the Whip Contest Exhibition, which will include speed and accuracy, bullwhip fast draw and a style contest.

    Contests will be followed by a matinee performance featuring whip artist Gery L. Deer, the knife throwing skills of Bass Blades and more. The Grand Wild West Showcase will be hosted by The Brothers & Co. Entertainers music and variety show.

    And the best part? This year’s Annie Oakley Event is FREE admission!

    Check out WDTN-TV2’s Katie Kenney with Gery Deer on “Living Dayton” …

    For full details visit http://www.ohiowesternarts.org
    Two great videos highlighting the event – provided by Rich Hoffman …

    “Last year breathed new life into this long-running event,” Deer says. “Our goal is to provide a featured event for Saturday that will help draw more people on what is typically the busiest day of the festival.” For more information or to participate in the whip contests, contact the production office of GLD Enterprises at (937) 902-4857 or email, gdeer@gldenterprises.net.

    For more information on the festival, visit www.annieoakleyfestival.org.

    This entry was posted in Bullwhip Cracking, Bullwhip Lessons, bullwhip show, Education, Performance, Uncategorized, Variety Show Performance and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

  • Whip contests at Annie Oakley Showcase July 26, open registration

    Posted on July 2, 2014 5:14 pm by gdeer

    westernmovie031Greenville, OH – The 12th Annual Annie Oakley Western Arts Showcase is scheduled to begin at 1PM, Saturday July 26th at the new event location of York Woods in Greenville, Ohio, during Annie Oakley Festival. In addition to Wild West Arts performances ranging from trick roping to precision knife throwing, the event also features some of the only public bullwhip competitions held anywhere in the United States.

    The exhibition whip contests are open to outside participation pending registration the day of the event. “We’ve opened it up to anyone to participate but we do have some restrictions,” says event producer, Gery L. Deer, director of The Whip Artistry Studio, the country’s only permanent, non-combative whip training school.

    “This is an exhibition competition, so it’s more for the spectators than the competitors and there are no ‘big’ prizes. A few people have donated whips and whip-related items but there’s no cash to be won. It’s mainly bragging rights from one of the longest-running whip contests in the country.”

    Deer points out that some of the best names in whip artistry will be on hand beginning with himself, a champion speed and accuracy competitor and 25-year veteran professional performer. Joining him will be “The Whip Guy,” whip artist Chris Camp, champion knife thrower and whip handler, Kirk Bass, and a host of others. The contests are based on long-standing events, many of which have gone by the wayside over the years.

    GLDINDY

    This year’s Annie Oakley Western Arts Showcase features a contest straight from an Indiana Jones movie!

    The Annie Oakley Western Arts Showcase started in 2002 as the Ohio regional convention for the former Wild West Arts Club (WWAC). Today, the event is the staple of western entertainment and competition at Annie Oakley Festival, a Darke County, Ohio favorite for more than half a century. Whip contests will be as follows:

    Classic Whip Speed & Accuracy – This is the age-old speed and accuracy competition modeled after those held at the international conventions of the former WWAC. Five target stands hold two foam cups each, on opposite sides and with each stand set for a different height. The event is timed and mistakes add seconds to each score with the lowest time is the ultimate goal.

    Whip Speed Switch – Similar to the Classic Speed & Accuracy, but competitors must use both hands, up one side and down the other targeting left-hand targets with the left hand and vice versa.

    The Original Bullwhip Fast Draw – This is a contest that originated with The Whip Artistry Studio and Annie Oakley events. Created by whip maker Paul Nolan, whip master Gery Deer and western re-enactor Chris Curtis, this is the most popular contest of the day. Competitors are paired in heats as they try to be the fastest draw with their whip from a “holstered” position and first to cut the target.

    The Raiders Fast Draw – This is a new contest for this year and a variation of the original fast draw. Taken from the opening scenes of “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” competitors use an 8 or 10-foot bullwhip and are required to face away from each other with their whips completely holstered in a cross-draw position. When signaled, they turn and throw at the target, each trying to be the fastest.

    IMG_3582All of the contests will be held outdoors and followed at 2:30 by a matinee performance featuring whip artist Gery L. Deer, the knife throwing skills of Bass Blades and more. The Grand Wild West Showcase will begin at 5:30 PM, hosted by The Brothers & Co. Entertainers music and variety show.

    Participation is limited, first come, first served and, due to safety considerations, event producer has final say in whether a competitor may participate. Those interested in competing must meet eligibility guidelines as follows: 18 or older, must have their own (approved) whip equipment and register no later than 12:30PM the day of the contest. For more information contact the production office of GLD Enterprises at (937) 902-4857 or go online to ohiowesternarts.org.

    Video from the 2013 Bullwhip Fast Draw …

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  • 2013 Annie Oakley Western Arts Showcase features world-class performers

    Posted on July 19, 2013 7:58 am by gdeer

    Annie Oakley Western Arts Showcase

     

    GREENVILLE, OHIO – JULY 26, 2013 – Wild West performers headlining the 11th Annual Annie Oakley Western Arts Showcase are gearing up for five live performances during the Annie Oakley Festival in the upper level of the Darke County Fairground Coliseum. Whip artists, trick ropers and other Wild West art experts who have appeared shows like America’s Got Talent and The Bonnie Hunt Show will be on hand to perform at 7 p.m. on Friday July 26 at 7 p.m. on Saturday the 27th 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. with two more shows at Noon and 2 p.m. on Sunday the 28th. Each show is free with regular admission.

    The event started out as a gathering of whip crackers in May of 2002 at the family farm of the founder and producer of the event, nationally known writer, entertainer Gery L. Deer. Deer expanded the event a year later to include trick roping, knife throwing and much more and moved it to the grounds of Annie Oakley Days Festival. Participants have the opportunity to learn from some of the best names in the business while sharing their skills to entertain the public.

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    Deer is an award-winning whip artist who has spent a quarter century performing, competing and teaching whip artistry. “We’re happy to be back at Annie Oakley Days for our tenth year of precision whip artistry, knife throwing and fancy trick roping,” says Deer, who is also the managing director of The Whip Artistry Studio, bullwhip training center inJamestown,Ohio. “I’m grateful that we have the opportunity to show the public genuine Wild West arts that require talent and skill, not to mention years of practice.”

    This year, the event will feature the National Whip Artistry Speed & Accuracy Competition! A speed and accuracy contest modeled after the original Wild West Arts Club events but with some interesting twists and turns! In addition to the standard timed targeting whip contests, the speed switch contest requires the competitors to use BOTH hands in precision targeting. Entry fee is $20 per person. Prizes include custom-made nylon whips, certificates for events and lessons at The Whip Artistry Studio and much more!

    Each performance showcase will also feature champion knife thrower Kirk Bass, of Xenia, who teams up with wife Melodee in the suspenseful Bass Blades impalement show. Bass is a certified thrown weapons instructor with the International Knife Throwers Hall of Fame and the assistant director for the Western Arts Showcase events.

    According to Deer, the best show to see will be on Saturday evening. “We pull out all the stops on Saturday, with Wild West arts exhibitions during the afternoon performance and a longer, variety show in the evening.” For the 9th year at the festival, Saturday night’s extended program will be hosted by The Brothers & Co. Entertainers music and variety group fromJamestown,Ohio. Often compared to The Statler Brothers or Oak Ridge Boys, the group offers audiences a brilliant combination of four-part vocals and Vaudeville-style comedy and variety routines.

    All performances are family friendly. For more information go online to www.ohiowesternarts.org or call (937) 902-4857.

     

    Note: The Annie Oakley Western Arts Showcase is a production of GLD Enterprises & Productions as a hired performance by the Annie Oakley Festival Committee.

    This entry was posted in Bullwhip Cracking, Bullwhip Lessons, bullwhip show, Education, Performance, Variety Show Performance and tagged , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.



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