Cowboy poet and storyteller Smoke Wade of Mesquite, Nevada, will be master of ceremonies at the Max Walker Memorial Cowboy Gathering of story and song at Hells Canyon Mule Days in September.

Wade, a fourth-generation Wallowa County cowboy and rangeland manager, was born and reared on a Snake River cattle ranch in Hells Canyon and has written poetry and Western nostalgia for 20 years. He also is a nephew of Mule Days grand marshals Biden and Betty Tippett and honorary grand marshal Ben Tippett.

The cowboy gathering will feature music, poetry and stories from Jim Aason, Andy Bales, J.B. Barber, Peggy Brennan, J.R. Groupe, Daniel Hall, Stan Kvistad, the Prairie Creek Girls, Alisha Young and Bailey Vernam.

The gathering will be at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 10, at the Wallowa County Fairgrounds, with a gathering at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.

Admission is free, although a requested $5 donation per adult will benefit the Max Walker Memorial Fund. Walker was founding chairman of Mule Days.

Wade has won numerous awards for his poetry and stories. He is program entertainment director for the Lee Earl Memorial Scholarship Cowboy Gathering in Lewiston, which features nearly 100 performers.