Historic Deadwood is all geared-up to host a weekend of free entertainment as Wild Bill Days rolls into town this weekend, June 18-20. The annual summer celebration lets folks revel in the lively spirit of Deadwood’s most infamous resident, Wild Bill Hickok.

Wild Bill Days 2010 features free Main Street concerts by country superstar John Michael Montgomery and the fiddle-picking, banjo-plucking jamsters Ryan Shupe & The RubberBand.

Weekend events also include a national DockDogs competition, the Cowboy Fast Draw Championships, the Firearms and Old West Auction & Show, Wild West re-enactors and a pole-vaulting exhibition on Main Street.

Events begin at 11 a.m. Friday, June 18, with the annual March of Dimes and First Gold Celebrity Shoot Out fundraiser at Ferguson Field, across the street from the First Gold Hotel complex. This Fast Draw competition is open to everyone, from professional to beginner.

The DockDogs competition – which involves high-flying, water-loving dogs – begins Friday morning too. Throughout Friday, the Firearms and Old West Auction preview and show will be held at The Lodge at Deadwood.

Free concerts on Friday night begin at 5 p.m. with Shantel Bolks. Brock Finn will follow and open up for Ryan Shupe and the RubberBand, who will take to the stage at 8 p.m. Their hits include the chart-topping “Dream Big.”

Saturday will feature the Cowboy Fast Draw Championships at Ferguson Field beginning at 9 a.m. This event features literally the fastest and most accurate professional gun slingers on earth today. Also, pole vaulters from nearby Black Hills State University will put on an exhibition at noon on Main Street.

And to kick the celebration into high gear on Saturday night, country superstar John Michael Montgomery will play a free 8 p.m. concert on Main Street. Montgomery has a host of hits, including his first, “Life’s a Dance,” that turned him from an unknown act into a national star overnight.

Wild Bill Days will wrap up on Sunday with the finals of the Cowboy Fast Draw Championships at Ferguson Field and the conclusion of the Firearms and Old West Auction.

2010 Wild Bill Days Schedule of Events:
(Times subject to change)