CASPER, Wyo. – Dozens of unique vendors were busy unpacking and making the final touches on their booths on Monday ahead of opening day of the first-ever The Mercantile at the WYO Sports Ranch.
The Mercantile converts the new sports complex’s ample floor space into a large trade show that coincides with this year’s College National Finals Rodeo, according to trade show coordinator Tristy Thomas. “All of us asked, how do we get CNFR to be bigger and better and more people to Casper,” she said. “We all love going to the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, and they have ‘Cowboy Christmas,’ which is a huge trade show.”
The end result of that idea is The Mercantile, which kicks off Tuesday and will host more than 50 vendors on the complex’s court side, while the turf side will be home to games, activities and mechanical bull riding.
Vendors unpack their trailers while preparing for the first ever Mercantile at the WYO Sports Complex on Monday, June 16, 2025. (Dan Cepeda, Oil City News)
Traditional vendors will still line the concourse area of the Ford Wyoming Center, but the sports ranch gives people many more options with a short walk across the parking lots, she said. “We’ll be open from 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. [throughout CNFR week], so people can get shopping done and head right on over to the rodeo.”
“This allows us to bring in a lot of different [vendors] that we haven’t really seen up in Casper before, a lot of them are their first times in Casper,” she said.”
One of them is Giulia Tacchino, a fifth-generation Italian hat maker with the Tacchino Hat Company, who was unpacking boxes of new hand-made unshaped hats made in the family company’s factory in Italy. Giulia traveled from Livingston, Montana, where she helps distribute the hats for the American market through The Cowboy Hat Barn. The family business was established in 1863, and has recently seen healthy growth in America. “We’re very happy,” she said.
They will custom-fit and shape new hats for customers at their booth, she said. “It creates a good connection between the person that shapes the hat and the customer, it’s a very personal moment because it’s made for you, for the top of your head and it frames your face,” she said.
Staff with the Jae Foundation booth set out merchandise while preparing for the first ever Mercantile trade show at the WYO Sports Ranch on Monday, June 16, 2025. (Dan Cepeda, Oil City News)
A few booths down, Jenny Rocha with the Jae Foundation was setting out clothing and items for their booth. The organization based in Twin Falls, Idaho, focuses on suicide awareness and prevention, and runs a storefront to help fund their activities. This year’s CNFR is the furthest the foundation has traveled for a pop-up booth.
The organization was named in honor of Pinedale, Wyoming resident Jae Bing, who died by suicide in 2016, according to Rocha. Jae’s best friend then started the foundation, which operates programs in Idaho and Wyoming. “100 percent of the merchandise we sell goes back into the foundation,” she said. Another part of the outreach is gifting cowboy boots to high school seniors. “Jae wore boots, and it’s a reminder to just check on our people – our friends and family,” she said. “So when we put on our boots, we’re supposed to reach out and call a friend and say, ‘Hi, how are you doing,’”
Shade Weygandt with Kimes Ranch Jeans prepares their booth on Monday, June 16, 2025. (Dan Cepeda, Oil City News)
Shade Weygandt, who traveled from Scottsdale, Arizona, for the Kimes Ranch Jeans booth, made a two-day journey to participate in the trade show. “We’re going to have jeans, apparel, t-shirts, rodeo gear,” she said.
The company designs and sources their own apparel, with the goal of keeping as much of the production and supply in the U.S. as possible, she said.
“We’ve been really excited about it, we were also one of the first [vendors] outside of sponsors that signed up to come out here.”
Tristy Thomas said the trade show will also feature live music on Friday and Saturday. A full schedule of events can be found at their website.
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