Ozark Folk Center State Park is located at Park Avenue, just north of Mountain View, Arkansas. It is approximately 100 miles north of Little Rock, 160 miles west of Memphis, Tennessee and 300 miles south of St. Louis, Missouri. The park set in the Ozark Mountains has a restaurant, cabins, theatre and a craft village much of which is handicapped accessible as are the park buses.
The Ozark Folk Center is dedicated to providing living history and exists to preserve, and display the cultural and social history of the Ozark region. For example the Ozark Folk Center Crafts Village has over 20 artisans, who will show visitors the pioneer folk art crafts and the everyday skills used by Ozark Mountain people in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Visitors will see many different skills here such as basket weaving, broom making, pottery, dress making and herb gardening amongst many other things.
The craft village is open 10am to 5pm Tuesday to Sunday, but visitors need to check before they set out the days of operation as these change part way through the season to just Wednesday to Saturday. The annual Ozark Folk School provides classes to individuals interested in learning one of the crafts practiced here. Classes will also include folk music, which is a very popular pastime here.
Visitors can listen to the traditional music of the Ozarks with various acoustic instruments played here such as the fiddle, banjo, mandolin and guitar. Evening concert programs are held here throughout the year and visitors are also entertained with traditional folk tunes during the daytime. Some of the musical events are instructional and visitors can learn to play a traditional folk music instrument as well.
There are lots of things for children to do at the Folk Center including a kid's club, where they can get hands on experience at various arts and crafts as well as taking part in a scavenger hunt through the park. An educational experience is provided for families and school students with projects assigned to give a better understanding of the Ozark way of life. Herb gardening is also very important here and visitors can see a very diverse group of gardens at the park.
Accommodation is offered at the Ozark Cabins at Dry Creek, which are all on ground level and are available all year round. The cabins include two queen size beds, telephone, TV, wireless Internet, mini-refrigerator, ironing facilities and a coffee pot. They also have glass doors that open onto small porches, most with a wooded view, and guests can use the game room and swimming pool at The Ozark Folk Center's Cabins office.
The Skillet Restaurant is open from 7am to 8pm each day and stands on a wooded hill overlooking a butterfly garden and wildlife feeding stations. As well as serving breakfast, lunch and dinner throughout the season, the restaurant offers a limited schedule of music and dining during the off-season year-round. Fast food can be found at the Ozark Folk Center Smokehouse from 10am to 4.30 pm, with barbeques, sandwiches, fried pies, fudge, ice cream and yogurt offered here.
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