WEST PLAINS, Mo. – The 2023 Old-Time Music, Ozarks Heritage Festival in downtown West Plains, Mo., will be held Friday and Saturday, June 2 and 3, 10 a.m. – 9 p.m. The annual two-day event in downtown West Plains celebrates Ozarks music and culture.
The Old-Time Music, Ozark Heritage Festival is the signature event for West Plains. The 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. Admission to all festival events is free.
Organizers announce this year’s event will feature increased programming of traditional music, lifeways, and arts. Music will begin at noon each day and continue through the end of the headliner performance which begins at 8 p.m.
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 a minimum of 10×15-feet. Space rental fees this year are $70 for for-profit vendors, $35 for non-profit groups, and $150 for food vendors.
Booth registration forms may be downloaded from the festival website, http://oldtimemusic.org. You may also contact the vendor coordinator, Jennifer Dryer – Phone: 417-256-4433 or email info@wpchamber.com
DEMONSTRATORS/ARTISANS – 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 Suggested demonstrator hours would be 10 a.m. -8 p.m. Coordinator – Lauren Campbell ljcampbell9145@gmail.com
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.
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 – Volunteers come from many different areas of the community, donating their time to assure a successful event, and the festival committee spends many hours over the year preparing for it. Volunteers are needed for the information booths and helping with simple surveys (2-hour shifts); as shuttle drivers around the grounds (4-hour shifts, must be 21 or older); helping with set-up on Thursday evening and Friday morning, or tear-down on Saturday evening.
Those interested in helping in any way should contact volunteer coordinator Stacey Tune Staceyatune@gmail.com, 949-887-4185, email the West Plains Council on the Arts at info@westplainsarts.org, or an online sign-up form is linked on the festival website http://www.oldtimemusic.org/?page_id=1222
Volunteers from previous years are encouraged to call or email to confirm they will be participating again this year, organizers said.
2023 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 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 e-mail info@westplainsarts.org, visit the website at http://www.oldtimemusic.org, or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Old.Time.Music.Festival
