In its inaugural year, Mesquite's Gold Butte Days Festival had something for everyone.

Cowboys and cowgirls, marathon runners, campaigning politicians, and food lovers, all found their place on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 12 and 13, as hundreds of people turned out for the special event in the downtown area.

Music lovers had lots of entertainment to enjoy in front of the stage on Yucca Street. Others enjoyed special presentations about the Grand Canyon Parashant National Monument, flint knapping and Cowboy Poetry in the City Hall Amphitheater.

The Virgin Valley Artists Association played a special part of the two day event as they hosted a special Mesquite Fine Art Invitational Exhibition featuring four preeminent art guilds: Boulder City Art Guild, Left of Center Gallery of North Las Vegas, Moapa Valley Art Guild, and Spring Mountain Art Guild of Pahrump. Each group brought 20 paintings and photographs representing their best work to the Mesquite Gallery. Local members of VVAA also entered art pieces in the exhibit and hosted a reception on Saturday afternoon.

Many of the local artists offered their pottery, gourds, metal sculptures, jewelry, and other original artwork and gifts for sale in booths spread around the Festival area.

The special art show continues through the end of the month and is free to the public at the Mesquite Fine Arts Gallery.

All in all, the Festival's first year was a success and promises even bigger and better years to come.