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.

“That was a concern for us, but we were so pleased at the number and talent that came out,” King said. “It was amazing to see all the talent that people had.”

Perhaps it’s the cultural base that’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 – 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 isn’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.