Join us starting this weekend for the 14th Annual Ozarks Celebration Festival on the Missouri State University campus, September 9-14, 2011! Since 1998, the festival has been an entertaining and educational look at the region’s culture and heritage, and we hope you’ll come out to celebrate with us.
The festival kicks off Friday evening, Sept. 9 at 5:00 p.m. at the John H. Keiser Amphitheater (located on the east lawn of Strong Hall) with the annual Concert Under the Stars and Ice Cream Social. This year’s concert features three southwest Missouri favorites: The Blackberry Winter Band performs from 5:30-7 p.m., Beyond Reach, featuring original Ozark Mountain Daredevils Larry Lee and Randle Chowning, performs from 7-8 p.m. followed by Big Smith, from 8-10 p.m. Bring your blankets and lawn chairs and get there early for the best possible seating and your share of ice cream! Free parking for the Concert Under the Stars and Ice Cream Social is available at the lot off Holland and Grand.
Saturday, Sept. 10 and Sunday, Sept. 11 is the craft and music portion of the Festival, which will be held on the grounds in front (east) of Carrington Hall. This year’s event showcases more than 75 craftsmen and exhibitors. Four entertainment stages feature a wide variety of music all weekend, ranging from folk and bluegrass to traditional American and Irish music. Children and parents alike will enjoy the storytelling performances and special kids area with lots of fun activities. Free parking for weekend festivities is available in lots near the corner of National and Monroe and all lots south of Grand. Shuttles will pick up at Bear Park North, Bear Park South, lot 14, lot 24, and the visitor’s parking lot (lot 13).
To commemorate the tragic events of September 11th, “Taps” will be played in echo style at 1:00 p.m. on the steps of Carrington Hall. Dr. Roger Stoner, associate dean of the College of Arts and Letters, and Dr. John Prescott, professor of music, will take part in this performance. You are also invited to attend a special concert at the Jane A. Meyer Carillon, located near Meyer Library, at 7:00 p.m. Janet Tebbel, a carilloneur from Philadelphia, will perform “Reconciliation and Remembering 9/11,” a concert featuring traditional American hymns and folk songs. After the concert, Dr. Stoner and Dr. Prescott will join fourteen other trumpet players in a cascade performance of “Taps.”
Engaging lectures and discussions continue after the weekend’s activities. Be sure to catch the Ozarks Lecture Series scheduled in Plaster Student Union’s Traywick Parliamentary Room (PSU 313) from Monday, Sept. 12 to Wednesday, Sept. 14. The lectures feature a variety of authors, storytellers, musicians, and historians presenting unique perspectives of Ozarks history and culture. Some of the presentations this year include:
- “Erasing Boundaries and Discovering an Early Seedbed of Ozark Settlement”
—Joan Gould - “The Archaeology of Slavery and Freedom in Ash Grove, Missouri: Recent Excavations at the Berry and Boone Homestead Sites”
—Dr. Elizabeth Sobel - “Vigilante Justice in the Ozarks: The Baldknobbers of Southwest Missouri, 1885-1889”
—Dr. Matthew J. Hernando - “An Ozarks Record Collector Looks at Popular Ozarks Music Through the Years”
—Wayne Glenn - “Momma Don’t Own a Machine Gun: Looking for Al Capone in the Ozarks” and “Where We’re From: Fair Grove Middle School Students Write About Place”
—Kim Piddington, Colleen Appel
Don’t miss this chance to learn more about Ozarks culture from people who have lived and studied it. See the complete lecture schedule online at ocf.missouristate.edu/lectures.htm.