Drummond visits Texas County as Guymon marks Pioneer Days tradition

Pioneer Days brought the crowds to Guymon, and Gentner Drummond used the moment to work the room at the Guymon Rotary Club BBQ and a local Republican meet and greet.

The timing mattered in Texas County. The Guymon Chamber of Commerce lists the 2026 Pioneer Days celebration as a week-long run from Sunday, April 26, through Sunday, May 3, with a citywide parade, carnival, mercantile craft show, 5K run and walk, rodeo queen crowning, trail riders, a golf tournament and mutton bustin’. The Rotary BBQ was on the Chamber calendar for May 1, and Pioneer Days Mercantile was set for May 2, putting Drummond in front of some of the biggest foot traffic Guymon sees all year.

That traffic is not small. A Chamber event listing says the Pioneer Days Mercantile draws more than 14,500 visitors to Guymon, while the mercantile alone welcomed more than 11,000 visits and 9,200 shoppers the previous year. TravelOK says Pioneer Days has roots in the Depression era of the 1930s and has been a Guymon tradition since 1933, making it one of the longest-running community events in the Oklahoma Panhandle and a draw for visitors from a five-state region.

The rodeo was also underway, with the Guymon Pioneer Days Rodeo Committee setting May 1 through May 3 as the 2026 dates. Its ground rules note limited stalls at the Texas County Fairgrounds and restrict gate access to the actual contestant and one companion with a pass, a reminder of how tightly the weekend is managed behind the scenes. For local businesses, volunteers and organizers, that means crowds, logistics and money all land at once.

Drummond’s campaign identifies him as Oklahoma attorney general and a Republican candidate for governor. It also casts him as a decorated fighter pilot and tough-on-crime attorney general, a pitch he brought to civic leaders and Republican voters as Pioneer Days filled downtown Guymon. Texas County Republicans thanked attendees and promoted their booth at Pioneer Days Mercantile, underscoring how the festival has become both a hometown tradition and a political stage in a county that will help decide how the Panhandle is heard in Oklahoma City.