When your home is “on the range”, a ranch party is the natural way to entertain. Barn, horses, open plains….you already have the perfect setting.
In the rolling prairies of the Flint Hills, you’ll find my father-in-law’s cattle ranch. A couple of years ago, he took his white barn from vanilla to “tricked out”, with the intention of using it for parties. From the outside, it looks like a typical barn. On the inside, the ground floor is fitted with horse stalls, a tack room and other basics. However, ascend an internal staircase with a “cowboy custom” hand rail and you’ll find yourself in a wide-open party space. Multiple chandeliers light the large, open space, anchored by a century old saloon bar and a spacious dance floor.
Just for the night, the horses were relocated so that the caterer could set up a gourmet buffet. Tables outfitted with red and white checkered table clothes and cutlery tied up in bandanas, were set up under two large white tents. Guests, wearing cowboy boots, hats and sporting Western wear, were treated to a delectable barbecue with all the fixins!
Once the sun had set, the guests climbed the staircase to the “party level” of the barn and were treated to music, dancing and a concert by the legendary Johnny Lee, of Urban Cowboy fame. Lookin’ for Love in All the Right Places….is probably his best known ballad.
The party went late into the night, with couples dancing in the moonlight and circling the fire pit for a final nightcap in the land where buffalo used to roam
