YellaWood ® Johnny Mack Brown Western Festival Coming to Dothan's Landmark Park

(DOTHAN, AL)—On May 9, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Landmark Park will celebrate the old West, Wiregrass style with the YellaWood ® Johnny Mack Brown Western Festival, sponsored by Great Southern Wood Preserving, Inc.
 
This annual festival will present Western-themed activities and Johnny Mack Brown movies. The Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association will demonstrate shooting from horseback, while other period shows add to the Old West feel. Landmark Park is home to one of the largest collections of Johnny Mack Brown memorabilia in the country. Several of his movies from the 1930s and ‘40s will also be shown during the festival. A new feature of the festival this year will be the Chuckwagon Cooking Demonstration. Two of Johnny Mack Brown’s children, Cynthia Brown Hale from Arizona and Sally Brown Bergan from Norway, will be featured guests.
 
On Friday, May 8, a Barn Dance will be held in the Stokes Activity Barn starting at 6:30 p.m. Local bluegrass band Pure and Simple will provide music. Admission is $20 per person and includes dinner, beverages and entertainment. The Do-Sa-Do’s of Dothan will entertain and teach square dancing at the Barn Dance. Dinner will be catered by The Blue Plate Restaurant.
 
The park’s Martin Drug Store and Shelley General Store will be open for business, providing visitors with treats from the operating soda fountain or old-fashioned items typical of a country store. Concessions will be available during the day.
 
Admission is $8 for adults, $6 for senior citizens, $4 for children, and free for children ages 3 and under. Park members are admitted free.
 
Johnny Mack Brown was born in Dothan on Sept. 1, 1904 and excelled as an athlete at Dothan High School. He went on to the University of Alabama where he was an All-American halfback. Brown made his first film in 1927 and went on to appear in over 165 movie and television productions. He acted with movie greats including Mae West, Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford and John Wayne. Brown’s fame, however, came with his acting in B-Westerns.  In the 1940s and ‘50s, he was consistently ranked in the Top 10 in popularity of Hollywood movie stars. 
 
Other sponsors of the YellaWood® Johnny Mack Brown Western Festival include WTVY and Knology.
 
Landmark Park, home of the Alabama Agricultural Museum, is a 100-acre historical and natural science park located on U.S. Highway 431 North in Dothan, Ala. For more information, contact the park at 334-794-3452 or visit [ http://www.johnnymackbrownfestival.com ]www.johnnymackbrownfestival.com.