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- Back to the 1800's Wild West in a complete replica western town
Saturday 22nd April 2023 17:00-20:00 Laredo Town, Fawkham, Kent DA3 8NZ
Back to the 1800's Wild West in a complete replica western town
Join us in the spring for a unique trip back in time, where outlaws gambled in shady saloons and gunslingers toured the American frontier
£125.00
Book your place
About this event
We are delighted to
announce a return to Laredo Town for an afternoon of unique photography
in an authentic replica 1800's western town, complete with re-enactors.
We have organized exclusive access to this private site that is not
usually open to the public. Laredo Town represents the American Wild
West as it would have been in 1865 to 1889. The town has a variety of
different buildings including a two-story Hotel with reception area and
full-size saloon bar, a wet plate photography studio, shops and stores
and much more. The town is complete with boardwalks, hitching rails,
horse troughs and shop signage all strung along an unmade old western
style street. As well as using the outside we will have access to many
buildings which all house incredibly authentic and accurate decor and
furniture.
Each and every building in the town is owned by a Laredo member. The members are western enthusiasts and the town hosts members weekends when the members come and stay in their buildings and enjoy a weekend dressed in authentic western clothing and partaking in traditional western activities. We will be photographing on one of these members weekends so we will have a wide variety of different characters to capture around the town. We also hope to have a couple of horses on site to help set the atmosphere, but this depends on how the animals are behaving on the day.
History
Laredo was founded in 1971 by keen western enthusiast John Truder, and a group of like-minded friends. John (JT to his friends) had been around horses since he was a young boy, and had owned and bred them on his small-holding for years. Laredo Western Club was formed when the group started to grow and needed a more structured organisation. The beginnings of the town started some years later and has gradually grown to what you see today.
Each and every building in the town is owned by a Laredo member. The members are western enthusiasts and the town hosts members weekends when the members come and stay in their buildings and enjoy a weekend dressed in authentic western clothing and partaking in traditional western activities. We will be photographing on one of these members weekends so we will have a wide variety of different characters to capture around the town. We also hope to have a couple of horses on site to help set the atmosphere, but this depends on how the animals are behaving on the day.
History
Laredo was founded in 1971 by keen western enthusiast John Truder, and a group of like-minded friends. John (JT to his friends) had been around horses since he was a young boy, and had owned and bred them on his small-holding for years. Laredo Western Club was formed when the group started to grow and needed a more structured organisation. The beginnings of the town started some years later and has gradually grown to what you see today.
There will be 2
sessions running on this day, one from 12:30-15:30 and this session is from
17:00-20:00 with the chance of capturing sunset and the golden hour. If
you would like to book both sessions we are offering a 10% discount: use
code: WILDWEST10 when booking, put this is the offer code box.
Please note this code is only valid for booking both events on the
22/04/2023 at Laredo Town and no other events can be in your cart. The
code can only be used once per person.
The group size will be limited to 25 photographers and with a very large amount of space, 24 buildings and around 10-15 re-enactors, so there will be plenty of photography opportunities.
The fire
As some
of you may have heard in 2021 a fire broke out at the far side of the
town destroying some of the buildings, but luckily the fire brigade were
able to contain it and put it out saving 75% of the town from damage.
As the majority of the street remains this will not effect our
photography but it means that the money you pay to attend this event
will go to the town and towards the rebuild of the buildings that were
damaged and burnt down. As each building is privately owned and built by
a member the fire caused a devastating blow to those individuals whose
wild west houses and shops were their life’s work and passion. We are
therefore very happy to be supporting them by running this event so that
they can re-build what they lost.
Event requirements
Equipment
- Spare batteries
- Camera
- Lenses
- Tripod
Other things you should bring
- Packed lunch
- Snacks
- Bottled water
Knowledge
- All levels welcome
Fitness
- Low
Other essentials
- Sturdy outdoor shoes
- Wet weather gear
