16. Artsfest On Walnut Street
City: Branson, MO
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (417) 831-6200, (877) 900-ARTS
Description: During the first weekend in May (10 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days), Springfield’s historic Walnut Street district puts on a celebration at which more than 150 local and regional artists display their work or perform. The Artsfest features food, dancing, art (paintings, sculpture, pottery, jewelry), crafts, and hands-on activities for children. Performers of all ages present ballet, theater, ethnic and folk music and dance, and choral and instrumental music from several venues—the Show Wagon Stage, the bandstand, porches. Even the street itself becomes an arena for roving street performers. Admission is $2 for adults. Children twelve and younger get in free.
17. Eureka Springs Blues Festival
City: Branson, MO
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (479) 253-8737
Description: Nationally known blues artists perform in clubs, hotels, and the city auditorium the last weekend in May and the two days before. This all-indoor event of world-class blues makes for a long weekend of great music in a unique setting. There are artists’ parties and special events galore. Prices vary, but there are also free concerts at Basin Park, and you can wander around on Spring Street and just soak up the blues and the atmosphere.
18. Eureka Springs Doll & Toy Show And Sale
City: Branson, MO
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (479) 253-8737
Description: Come as you are or get all dolled up. Antique, collectible, and artist dolls, along with old toys, doll clothes, wigs, furniture, and anything doll related, will fill the main level of the Inn of the Ozarks Convention Center the third Saturday in May. New, old, and artist-made bears of all sizes also have a special place in the show. Appraisals are available for dolls that you may have, and door prizes, dealers from several states, and fellow hobbyists make this a fun weekend for children and collectors. Call for admission prices.
19. Forsyth Citywide Garage Sale
City: Branson, MO
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (417) 546-2741, (417) 546-4763
Description: Hang around the area for another week after you visit the Nixa citywide garage sale, and you can also take in Forsyth’s. It’s always the third Saturday in May, and it attracts people from near and far, as local folks, artists, and crafters reduce inventory and clean out the attic and garage. It’s a citywide party, arts and crafts event, and flea market!
20. Great American Music Festival
City: Branson, MO
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (417) 338-2611, (800) 952-6626
Description: Beginning the third weekend in May and lasting for three weeks, you can celebrate American music with award-winning musicians as more than 200 musicians and groups from across the nation and around the world (ever hear an Austrian bluegrass group?) perform bluegrass, country, gospel, and Dixieland throughout the park at Silver Dollar City. Regular admission prices apply to this special event.
21. May Fine Arts Festival
City: Branson, MO
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (479) 253-8737
Description: The arts are everywhere here. Eureka turns on the creativity all month, celebrating the arts with special events, including an outrageous parade, kids’ activities, performing arts, workshops, demonstrations, displays, weekend nighttime gallery walks, receptions, a changing roster of featured artists, and much more. Most events are free.
22. Nixa Citywide Garage Sale
City: Branson, MO
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (417) 725-5486
Description: On the second Saturday in May, the Nixa Parks Department sponsors a citywide garage sale. Every house in town seems to participate. People from Springfield and towns around Nixa flock to this small burg for the bargains, and Nixans get a lot of spring cleaning and clutter clearing done that day.
23. Plumb Nellie Days
City: Branson, MO
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (417) 334-1548, (888) 322-2786
Description: This is when locals play stereotypical hillbillies for themselves and the tourists. This downtown Branson celebration gets us out in our bib overalls and calico and gingham dresses for the parade, the children’s pet contest, and the contest for king and queen of Plumb Nellie Days. We even have a beard-growing contest and an outhouse race. In fact, we have “plumb nellie everything” at this event, including more than 120 booths in large tents in the crafts festival and the merchants’ sidewalk sale. Look for this event the third weekend in May!
24. Sucker Day
City: Branson, MO
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (417) 725-1545
Description: That good-eatin’ but ugly fish that spawns in the spring here in the Ozarks is the excuse for this celebration. During mid-April, if you see people in trees along Ozark rivers and on bridges looking down into the water, they are probably trying to grab suckers. The third Saturday in May is Nixa’s celebration of all things sucker, and thousands descend on the town to get their fill of fried suckers and a chowder they call sucker soup. There is a parade to kick off the day’s events, and you can find craft booths, entertainment, and amusement rides that last into the night.
City: Branson, MO
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Address: 11045 War Eagle Rd.
26. All Convertible Car Show And Parade
City: Branson, MO
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (479) 253-8737
Description: Go topless in Eureka Springs the third Saturday in June. This is the ultimate one-day convertible car show, with 14 classes in competition for trophies and prizes. Convertibles from 1915 to the present will be on display and will parade through the historic district at 2 p.m. Special classes include 4x4s, VWs, street machines, and more. There’s a preregistration fee for cars, but if you’re just going to gawk, admission is free.
27. Annual ’50S–’60S Street Dance
City: Branson, MO
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (417) 334-1548, (888) 322-2786
Description: The third Saturday in June is the date for this big event held along the Taneycomo lakefront. This is a late-night affair; it does not start until 9 p.m., and it goes until midnight. Many local entertainers provide live music for this nostalgic event for people of all ages. Bring lawn chairs, a blanket or cushion for sittin’, and shoes for dancin’!
28. Antique Tractor And Engine Show
City: Branson, MO
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (417) 858-3300, (800) 658-0328
Description: Whether you go for the tractors and steam engines or the country music and barbecue doesn’t matter. You can get it all at this free show, usually held at Tapjac Home Center in Shell Knob. You’ll see old Case steam engines, Molines, Fords, and Deere “Johnnie Poppers,” plus other antique farm machinery.
29. Dr. Mary Long Scholarship
City: Branson, MO
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (417) 546-2741
Description: Who can resist homemade ice cream? Don’t feel guilty about what you eat here because it’s for a good cause: proceeds from the event, which honors one of the area’s pioneer doctors, provide medical scholarships for students. Bring your appetite to the Taney Center, 2 miles south of Forsyth. Call for the exact date.
30. Inspiration Point Opera
City: Branson, MO
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (479) 253-8595
Description: Opera in the Ozarks has a long tradition and a devoted following. Call for the summer schedule and ticket information, and see the Arts and Culture chapter for more information.