The City of Lewisville will be presenting Western Days on Friday, Sept. 23 from 5 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. and Saturday, Sept. 24 from 10 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. The event will take place in Old Town Lewisville and will be free for attendees arriving before 7 p.m.; afterward, it will cost $10 for those 11 and older.

In 2007, the city began hosting Western Days, a two day family-friendly festival located in historic Old Town Lewisville. This tradition started more than 30 years ago; it began as a part of the Lewisville Saddle Club’s Labor Day Rodeo, and the City of Lewisville ended up taking over the responsibility of planning the event. Western Days offers live music, good food, a cattle drive parade and many more activities for the whole family to enjoy.

“[Attendees are to] expect a safe, fun-filled and relatively inexpensive event,” Western Days event coordinator Daren Watkins said. “We want to provide a top shelf event that doesn’t cost much to attend [and] that the residents can be proud of.”

This year, the event coordinators have successfully booked the Old 97’s, the Eli Young Band and other musical artists from the Dallas/Forth Worth area. The performances will be held on three different stages throughout the festival starting at 5 p.m. on Friday and continuing throughout Saturday.

Friday night’s headliner, the Eli Young Band, began its career in 2000 when roommates Mike Eli and James Young formed “Eli & Young” at the University of North Texas. They later went on to create multiple No. 1 hits and earn many Country Music Award nominations. The band will take the Waste Management Main Stage at 10 p.m.

There will be more than 100 vendor spaces filled with unique arts and crafts, food, non-profit organizations and businesses. Attendees can find one-of-a-kind items ranging from clothing to shadow boxes, and everything in between. There will be a variety of food vendors including corn dogs, kettle corn and barbecue.

One of Saturday’s highlights include the Huffines Auto Dealerships Cattle Drive Parade that will feature a herd of 25 Texas longhorns and many local organizations, businesses and schools. This year’s “Home on the Range” themed parade will begin at 11:30 a.m. on Cowen Street and end at the Purnell Support Center.

“Beginning Sept. 6, free tickets [were] available to pick up at our various ticket locations,” said Watkins. “They can also be downloaded from the [event] website. A ticket is required for entry, but you don’t necessarily need to carry a hard ticket to the event. Attendees can also show the image of the ticket from their smart phones.”

Rain or shine, Western Days is filled with tens of thousands of people every year. The crowds continue to grow each year the festival comes around. In 2013, more than 19,000 attended. Now, three years later, the city expects the number to be much larger.

“With cooperative weather, we believe 30,000 plus will attend,” Watkins said.