WEST PLAINS, MO- Traditional square dancing and music workshops will again be featured at this year’s Old Time Music, Ozark Heritage Festival in downtown West Plains, MO. The two-day annual event in downtown West Plains, MO., celebrates Ozarks music and culture. Admission to all festival events is free. Festival hours are 10 a.m.- 10 p.m. both Friday and Saturday, October 17 and 18.
Square dancing will take place Friday and Saturday night from 6-10 in the Civic Center Exhibit Hall. Bring your dancing shoes and join in! Andy and Jane Elder, Gainesville, MO, will emcee the dances this year. Their enthusiasm always brings out the best in the dancers!
Traditional square dancing has been an integral component of the Old-Time Music, Ozark Heritage Festiv al since the first event in 1995. Fiddler Bob Holt and Caller Edna Mae Davis of Ava, MO, introduced this art form that year, and their influence continues to be felt. Square dancers in the Douglas County area maintain a distinctive tradition of square dance characterized by brisk tempos, the incorporation of solo jig dancing into square dances during transitional segments, and the participation of the callers as dancers. Traditional square dancing still takes place at least occasionally in some locations within the Ozarks. The Elders are working hard to pass along the traditional dance steps of the Ozark Highlands.
Square dancing has been an important vehicle for both artistic expression and social recreation in this region since the arrival of the first white settlers. It is closely associated with traditions of fiddling and string band music, as well as traditions of solo dancing such as jig dancing.
Experienced string band musicians from south-central and southwest Missouri who are thoroughly familiar with regional square dance traditions will be featured. Led by fiddler David Scrivner his team of Hawken and Emily Boldman, and Joel Hinds will provide live musical accompaniment for the dancing, jig dance workshops and jig dance competition.
David Scrivner began playing Ozarks music when he was just six years old. A native of Mansfield, Missouri, David’s family ties in the Ozarks go back generations with roots in Douglas and Taney counties. David has been playing traditional Ozarks fiddle music for 25 years, including several years as a student and apprentice of renown Ozarks fiddler Bob Holt. Focused on preserving Ozarks dance and music traditions, David also won the 2019 Arkansas State Old-Time Fiddling Grand Championship.
Jig Dance Workshops in the Exhibit Hall – Friday & Saturday- 11 to noon
Keith Symanowitz is an accomplished jig dancer, award-winning singer, musician, and folk percussionist. Keith plays percussion for The Creek Rocks and works as a Park Interpreter at the Ozark Folk Center State Park in Mountain View, Arkansas where he often teaches folk dance and percussion for all ages and ability levels.
Workshops below take place in Room Dogwood 1. Topics, presenters, and times are listed to help your planning for the two-day event.
Mandolin – Dave Guftafson – Friday, 4PM
Bass – Pat Loftus – Friday, Noon
Lead Guitar- Dave Robinson – Saturday, 1PM
Performing with the Roe Family Singers they bring a mix of original music and old-time, traditional, and gospel tunes into one roiling & rollicking river of fresh yet familiar American music.
Folk Rhythms – Keith Symanowitz – Friday, 1PM
Learn how to play the spoons and other traditional percussion instruments.
Ozark Traditions of Old-Time Fiddling – Shortleaf Band – Friday, 3PM
Michael Frazer, an original member of the Shortleaf Band was an apprentice to the late Bob Holt of Ava, learning how to perform Ozark Square Dance Music on the fiddle.
Beginning Dulcimer – Cleo Cockrum – Saturday, 11:00 AM
Cockrum will share tips on learning the dulcimer. Twenty-four beginner instruments have been purchased by West Plains Council on the Arts for this purpose and will be available for attendees.
Mountain Dulcimer – Duane Porterfield – Saturday, noon
Duane Porterfield is an award-winning multi-instrumentalist. A regular performer and emcee at the Folk Center’s live shows. He also assists with sales, promotions, and the creation of McSpadden Dulcimers in Mountain View.
Clawhammer Banjo – Van Colbert – Saturday, 2PM
Van Colbert – Old-time music has been a family tradition for generations for Colbert Brothers Leon, Van, and Vernon, all of whom hail from Willow Springs, MO. “Mom and Dad instilled in us the love of their music, and to this day we play, sing and remember,” said Van, who is known for his unique “two-finger” roll style on banjo.
Harmonica – Seth Shumate – Saturday, 3PM
Seth Shumate is an Arkansas native whose grandfather and great-grandmother played the harmonica or “french harp” in the Ozarks. He has played and studied the history of old-time harmonica and specializes in the fiddle-tune, country blues, and jug band styles of the harmonica masters of the 1920s-30s. Seth will give a presentation on the old-time harmonica techniques needed to transform a skinny melody into a wall of sound.
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.
2025 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.
For more information on the festival e-mail info@westplainsarts.org, visit the website at https://www.oldtimemusic.org, or “like” the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Old.Time.Music.Festival
