When Ghost Town in the Sky recently held auditions to fill its entertainment needs, about 40 potential cowboys competed for 10 available slots.

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The response to the entertainment openings was gratifying, said David King, sales and marketing manager for the western-theme park. Not finding enough employees could potentially derail plans to reopen Ghost Town on May 25.

โ€œThat was a concern for us, but we were so pleased at the number and talent that came out,โ€ King said. โ€œIt was amazing to see all the talent that people had.โ€

Perhaps itโ€™s the cultural base thatโ€™s already in place in Western North Carolina, but at least on the entertainment side, there is a worker boom taking place at Ghost Town. The auditions for musicians went equally as well as for cowboys โ€“ there were a variety of different groups and individual musicians, King said, including bluegrass players and piano players. A couple of magicians who can do card tricks even turned out.

King isnโ€™t so sure yet how well the entertainment park will do at filling less-skilled positions such as ride operators and ticket takers, but a slew of applications have been received, he said.