While the Buffalo celebration in his honor may be moving to a new online venue for 2020, Sheriff Walt Longmire continues to do exactly what he’s always done in the face of the pandemic.
Wyoming author Craig Johnson was asked to write a passage describing what his fictional sheriff, the inspiration for a popular television show, might be doing as Wyoming works its way through COVID-19. His response had the sheriff tackling his job the same as he’s always done.
“With only two cases of COVID-19 in Absaroka County, Wyoming, Sheriff Walt Longmire continues to do his sworn duties along with visits to the one case at the Durant Home For Assisted Living and the second, a musician who contracted the illness at a Cowboy Poetry Festival in Pocatello, Idaho,” the update on Johnson’s Facebook page read. “Everyone is hoping for the best concerning the octogenarian, but community sympathy for the musician is mixed in that he is an accordion player…”
The humorous narrative came as organizers of Buffalo’s Longmire Days announced that instead of postponing the annual celebration because of the coronavirus, they would cancel all in-person activities.
However, there will still be a Longmire Days, it will just take place in the virtual world. From Aug. 13-16, there will be watch parties of the “Longmire” TV series and other virtual events held in place of the in-person event.
Longmire Days is an annual event held in Buffalo every summer that celebrates the series of books featuring Sheriff Walt Longmire written by Wyoming author Craig Johnson. The books served as the inspiration for the television series “Longmire,” which is currently streaming on Netflix. There were six seasons and 63 episodes produced over the course of the series, all starring Australian actor Robert Taylor as the fictional Wyoming sheriff.
The decision was made to cancel the in-person Longmire Days events out of concern for the safety of attendees and the potential risk of spreading the coronavirus.
“The safety of everyone, as always, is foremost in our minds and we feel that the risk to the fans, actors, and our community is just too great,” the organizers wrote on the Longmire Days website.
