The footprint for this year’s Old-Time Music, Ozarks Heritage Festival in downtown West Plains will change, encompassing vendors and activities from the east lawn of the civic center, up East Main Street and around Court Square, organizers announced.
The festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The annual event, in its 30th year, seeks to celebrate Ozarks music and culture.
An interactive map showing this year’s footprint is available online and highlights activities, shuttle cart stops, and history docent and quilt walk locations. A link to the map can be found on the festival’s Facebook page @Old.Time.Music.Festival
The east lawn of the civic center will become an encampment, featuring living history from four eras: Native American, Colonial, Mountain Men (Rendezvous) and the Civil War. Workshops and demonstrations on musical and traditional arts will continue to be presented at the civic center, and a Quilt Walk is planned through the downtown area, where history docents also will be located. Digital maps for the Quilt Walk, and history docent locations will be available online and printed copies will be available at the festival information booths.
In addition to the civic center theatre stage, music will be performed on an outside stage placed on Court Square for more music throughout both days.
Programming includes the Yellow House Community Arts Center on West Trish Knight Street, where storytelling will be featured in addition to an art exhibit, art class and food. The Avenue Theatre on Washington Avenue is planning a full slate of productions — and even a talent night. Ozarks Heritage Research Center in the Garnett Library on West Trish Knight Street will be open until 5 p.m. Friday, and the Harlin Museum on Worcester Street, open noon to 4 p.m. both days, will house its Ozark Heritage exhibit of the Broadfoot Collection as well as several antique quilts.
Because of the increased size of the footprint, additional shuttle carts will be provided so that attendees can easily move from one location to another, said organizers. Look for the bright green poles for official stops on both sides of the civic center, at the West Plains Senior Center on East Main Street, the Howell County Courthouse on the Square, on Washington Avenue at Dixon Street, and at the Yellow House and Garnett Library.
The Old-Time Music, Ozark Heritage Festival is the signature event for West Plains and seeks to celebrate, preserve, pass on and nurture an appreciation of the old-time music and folk life traditions distinctive to the Ozark Highlands. Admission to all festival events is free.
2024 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 the event is provided by the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency. Additional support has been provided by Missouri Humanities and Missouri Department of Tourism.
For more information on the festival email info@westplainsarts.org, visit the website at www.oldtimemusic.org or follow @old.time.music.festival on Facebook.
