Story Days

Breakfast at the Story Fire Hall starts at 7:00 a.m. on the Saturday of Story Days. The Story Volunteer Fire/Rescue Department serves it every year as a fundraiser. At the 2026 celebration, held August 28–30, it ran from 7:00 to 10:00 a.m., and at 10:00 the parade moved through downtown Story. Artist, craft and food booths stood along North Piney Road, and volunteers in Story Days vests directed visitors.

Story is a small unincorporated community in Sheridan County, 20 miles south of Sheridan. It sits among ponderosa pine forests close to the Bighorn National Forest and has fewer than 1,000 residents. A committee of volunteers organizes Story Days. In 2026 the committee was led by Megan Decker, owner of Nola Catering & Private Dining. The 2026 theme, “Story the Beautiful,” was taken from “America the Beautiful” to mark the nation’s 250th anniversary.

Friday at the Story Store and the Art Station

The weekend opens Friday afternoon. In 2026 the Story Lions Club began selling raffle tickets at 2:00 p.m. at the Story Store, which is owned by Derek and Peggy Burns. Sheridan Media reported that sales would continue until 2 p.m. Saturday. Hamburgers and hot dogs went on sale at 4:00 p.m. and were served until they ran out. StoryWyoming.org placed them at the Story Store, while Sheridan Media’s preview placed them at the Story Women’s Club. The Woman’s Club served pie and ice cream, which StoryWyoming.org lists among the longtime favorites of Story Days.

The silent auction ran from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Story Art Station. Decker told Sheridan Media that it offers experiences and items from local Story businesses. The proceeds pay for the German Christmas Market in December and the following year’s Story Days.

At 5:00 p.m., Wendy Auzqui, a World Championship Stock Dog Trainer, gave a live sheep dog demonstration with a Border Collie. Spectators saw how a trained dog answers commands and uses instinct, positioning and controlled pressure to move livestock. In 2019 Auzqui and her Border Collie, Frank, won the World Championship Stock Dog Trial in Calgary. She told Mark Caudle of StoryWyoming.org that when everything comes together, working livestock can almost become a dance. The Nate Champion Band played the Art Station from 8:00 to 11:00 p.m. It is a five-piece multi-genre jam band from Sheridan that plays original music.

Saturday and Sunday around town

After the parade, events spread across the community. In 2026, children’s games began at Grace Chapel at 11:00 a.m. The Story Museum opened, Barbula Carriage Rides started, and the Woman’s Club kept serving pie and ice cream. Danielle & The Outlaws played at the Lodore from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., followed by Cruisin from 2:30 to 5:30. The afternoon also held a horseshoe tournament at Crilly’s Horseshoe Pit, the Women’s Club Duck Race at the Wagon Box, the close of the silent auction and several raffle drawings. Rich Bratten played the Tunnel Inn from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m.

Sunday begins with Worship in the Park at Story Centennial Park at 10:00 a.m. Registration for the disc golf tournament opens at noon. The Piney Island Pioneers 4-H Club, a youth club based in Sheridan County, won the 2026 Story Days Parade.

The crowds bring cars to a small town. Before the 2023 celebration, Undersheriff Lt. Devereaux Johnson and Deputy Boot Hill of the Sheridan County Sheriff’s Office went on Sheridan Media’s Public Pulse and advised visitors to arrive early to find good parking.

Bombshells, bumblebees and Engine 142

Clint Wood of The Sheridan Press photographed the parade of Saturday, August 24, 2024. Before it began, Jenny Wuerker painted tiger faces on Violet Scott and her cousin Vaeda Butke. Violet acted like a tiger afterward and roared for short video clips. Some Story residents watched the parade from the shade.

The Story Garden Club entered as “The Boogie Woogie Bombshells.” Sue Shrum, JJ Osmin, Janey, Judy Nelson, Diane Gaunt, Terry Faulkner and Joy Decker saluted as part of a skit set to “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B.” Michelle Rotel, dressed as a bumblebee, roller-skated between the performers, including Debbie Cimmer, and caught some air.

Spectators clapping for Story Fire Department Engine 142 were reflected in its bumper. The Fort Kearny Regulars and Boy Scouts of Troop 117 stayed in step as they carried the colors. The Sheridan WYO Rodeo Wranglers rode, and the Campbell Corner Band played. A member of the band TR!P HVZVRD held up his dog to wave to the crowd. Richard Anderson rode for the National Day of the Cowboy. After picking up suckers, a young paradegoer stood staring at a vehicle from the Model A Pioneer Car Club.

A horse trader’s town and its count of years

The program changes from year to year. In 2022 the celebration ran August 26–28. Saturday began with a 5K color run and walk at 7 a.m. and a fireman’s pancake feed at Story Hall, and Cruisin’ played at the Waldorf A’Story Guest Haus. That year the weekend closed with a community church service and potluck lunch at Story Park. In 2023 the opening at the Story Women’s Club featured the silent auction and ice cream cones, and a BBQ cook-off held its sampling and judging at 5 p.m. Friday. In 2025 Mark Caudle chaired the committee. He told Sheridan Media that 40 vendors were scheduled, and the Alley Kats played Friday night until 11. Caudle, a former president of the Story Days & Events Committee, manages StoryWyoming.org.

The sources disagree on the event’s age. StoryWyoming.org says Story Days has been bringing neighbors together for over 50 years. The Sheridan Press called the parade of August 24, 2019 the 32nd annual Story Days Parade, and photographed Malcom Schaffer, 2, and his brother Zeke, 4, waving at the Kalif Clowns as they passed.

The town is older than either count. StoryWyoming.org says it began in the late 1800s, when a horse trader named Marshall Wolf settled there. He wanted to name the town after himself, but the name “Wolf” was already taken. He named it instead for Charles B. Story, a nearby rancher and friend who helped establish the first post office.