Page 35 - OzarksMagazineFeb17

Living Ozarks heritage, traditions center of West Plains festival
By aBBY HEss
WEst PLaIns, Mo. — For 24 years, the West Plains Council on the Arts has sought to celebrate and nurture appreci- ation for old-time music and folk life tra- ditions of the Ozarks Highlands with the Old-Time Music, Ozark Heritage Festival in downtown West Plains held the rst weekend in June.
is particular festival stands out from other traditional heritage festivals: Rather than focusing on the days of yore, thriving on nostalgic reenactments, the Old-Time Music, Ozark Heritage Festival highlights living traditions. ose behind the festival insist it’s not a matter of preserving heritage, but of showcasing what is important to the people of the Ozarks who today carry on traditions passed down through genera- tions.
at’s not to say reenactments aren’t a part of the festival and people don’t dress in old-time apparel. Both are featured prominently in the annual two-day event. But there are plenty who bring their old-time traditions with a modern twist. Festivalgoers can watch a black- smith in action, learn how to make goat cheese, see ice cream made with a tractor, learn how to spin yarn and, likely, hear a good yarn spun.
Old-timers and youngsters and all the age groups in between congregate each
Mule jumping, according to festival or- ganizers is“the most Missourian of Mis- souri folk arts” and a mainstay of the The Old-Time Music, Ozark Heritage Festival.
www.OzarksMag.com
June to hear music on two stages and partake in the festivities. e emphasis is on old-time music, a genre distinct from bluegrass and country, that makes its own contribution to the form of music that grew out of the hardships faced by early Americans.
In recent years a second stage has been added to showcase the youth who are keeping old-time musical traditions alive, even while adding their own modern air.
Musicians, artisans and storytellers from throughout the state come to the West Plains festival in enthusiastic support of creating a place to listen, watch, interact and honor the old-time traditions of southern Ozarks communi- ties. In recent years artists from beyond the Ozarks have joined in the fun, such as the Roe Family Singers, a husband- and-wife duo who have traveled south for the festival each year since 2014.
Headliners over the years have included local and national talent, up-and-coming artists and renown musicians. e late Dr. Ralph Stanley, the Grammy country music award winner dubbed a Living Legend by the Library of Congress and recipient of the National Medal of Arts under President George W. Bush, took the main stage in 2015.
Folk music pioneers of the 1960s e New Christy Minstrels, another Gram- my winning group, have entertained the crowds on the outdoor stage, as have various incarnations of the locally-root- ed Rhodes Family that got its start
Spring 2018 | Ozarks Magazine | 35