WEST PLAINS, Mo. – The Old-Time Music, Ozarks Heritage Festival in downtown West Plains, Mo., will celebrate its 26th year Friday and Saturday, June 5 and 6. The two-day annual event in downtown West Plains, Mo., celebrates Ozarks music and culture. Admission to all festival events is free.
VENDOR BOOTH SPACE AVAILABLE – Organizers said they welcome booths from vendors, non-profit groups, businesses, school fund-raising efforts, churches, civic groups, public officials and individuals; however, in the event of duplicate offerings, first consideration will be given to early registrants. Final approval rests with festival committee members, organizers added.
Booth spaces measure minimum of 10×15-feet. Space rental fees for the two-day period are $70 for for-profit vendors, $35 for non-profit groups, and $95 plus 10 percent net profit for food vendors.
Booth registration forms may be downloaded from the festival website, http://oldtimemusic.org. You may also contact the vendor coordinator, Sherry Harper at 417-274-8618.
Organizers plan to provide this year’s attendees once again with a diagram/map of the festival grounds, which will be available at the festival information booths. All on-time (prior to May 15) registrations will be listed on the diagram with the booth name and specific location on the grounds.
DEMONSTRATORS/ARTISANS – Additional demonstrators are currently being sought for this year’s event, and practitioners of traditional arts are encouraged to apply. Applications are available on the Festival website at http://www.oldtimemusic.org/?page_id=3205 Requested demonstrator hours would be 10 a.m. -8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Many of the area’s material arts and crafts originated for entirely utilitarian reasons and were essential for meeting the basic needs of Ozarks residents in past generations. As a result of changes in the region’s economy, especially the increased availability of manufactured goods since the mid-twentieth century, such arts and crafts are no longer practical necessities, but many talented artisans and craftspeople in the Ozarks continue to practice them both as outlets for their creativity and as means of celebrating the region’s rich cultural heritage.
In many cases, these crafts and art forms have incorporated more aesthetic elements as they have evolved over time, and artistry now takes precedence over functionality in the work of many of their practitioners, though this is certainly not always the case.
Some of the artisans and craftspeople who participate in the Old-Time Music, Ozark Heritage Festival practice their arts and crafts as living traditions, and their work reflects ongoing developments within those traditions, including, in some cases, their own innovations. Other participants in the festival are more historically based, and they strive to practice their arts and crafts as they were practiced generations ago. Some have products available for purchase; all of them encourage festival goers to observe their work and learn about it.
VOLUNTEERS – Organizers come from many different areas of the community, volunteering their time to assure a successful event, and the festival committee spends many hours over the year preparing for it. Because of the festival’s continued growth, more volunteers are needed for a variety of jobs, organizers said. Volunteers are needed for the information booths (2-hour shifts); helping with set-up on Friday morning; maintaining the entrance gate for artists on the north side of the Civic Center; as shuttle drivers around the grounds (4 hour shifts, must be 21 or older); and helping with simple surveys.
Those interested in helping in any way should contact volunteer coordinator Sabrina Lewis sabrinalewis1022@hotmail.com or phone 417-274-8060 or the West Plains Council on the Arts at info@westplainsarts.org
Volunteers from previous years are encouraged to call or e-mail to confirm they will be participating again this year, organizers said. Volunteer sign-up forms are also available on the festival website, and information is available at: http://www.oldtimemusic.org/?page_id=1222
The Old-Time Music, Ozark Heritage Festival is the signature event for West Plains. The two-day festival seeks to celebrate, preserve, pass on and nurture an appreciation of the old-time music and folk life traditions distinctive to the Ozark Highlands.
2020 Festival partners include the West Plains Council on the Arts, the City of West Plains, the Ozark Heritage Welcome Center, West Plains Civic Center, and Missouri State University-West Plains. Partial funding for this event was provided by the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.
For more information on the festival e-mail info@westplainsarts.org, visit the website at http://www.oldtimemusic.org, or “like” the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Old.Time.Music.Festival
