61. Ozarks Steamorama
City: Branson, MO
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (417) 732-3356
Description: For almost 50 years, the Ozarks Steam Engine Association in Republic has hosted Ozarks Steamorama. It’s held on US 60 on the south side of the road, with entrance to the grounds from FR 170. It is usually held the second weekend in September. They have a 35-acre site that features more than 400 old tractors, 20 steam-driven traction engines, 300 gasoline engines, 40 crawler tracts, 55 garden tractors, and 40 antique and classic trucks, plus threshers and shingle and sawmills.
62. State Of The Ozarks Fiddlers Convention
City: Branson, MO
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: 800-233-8648
Description: Three days of fiddling fun can be found at the Compton Ridge Campground. Fiddlers from around the country meet and perform day and night at various locations around the campground and at the Gathering Place, the campgrounds meeting center. Awards are presented for oldest, youngest, most-improved, and farthest-traveled fiddlers. Come to play or just listen. Call for the exact dates and details. (See the Campgrounds and RV Parks chapter for information on Compton Ridge Campground.)
63. Annual Fall Art Show
City: Branson, MO
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (417) 546-5439
Description: During the entire month of October, you’re invited to stop by the Forsyth Art Guild building and see work of local artists and crafters. You’ll find woodcarvings, watercolors, oils, sculpture, and china paintings. Much of the work is for sale, so bring your wallet.
64. Apple Butter Making Days
City: Branson, MO
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (417) 466-7654
Description: Just the aroma is worth the trip to the Lawrence County seat, named after George Washington’s home and host to one of the sweetest festivals in the Ozarks the second Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of October. It’s free, but you’ll want to pack some apple butter (made before your eyes in 60-gallon copper kettles) back with you so you can enjoy it at home. While there on the Mount Vernon square, admire the old courthouse, enjoy the parade, watch the terrapin race (or maybe bring your own entry), enter the tall-tale-telling contest, take in the crafts and demonstrations—more than 370 booths—and listen to the live entertainment. Mount Vernon is west of Springfield but is only a bit more than an hour’s drive from Branson via the back roads of MO 13 and 265.
65. Corvette Weekend
City: Branson, MO
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (479) 253-8737
Description: More than 350 Corvettes will purr their way into Eureka Springs for this annual show and parade. See Vettes of all ages on display at Pine Mountain Village or out on a timed road rally. The sheer number of these classic cars all in one place is a sight to behold. Attendance is free, but if you want to enter your Vette, registration is $35 and $45.
66. Fall Festival Of The Arts
City: Branson, MO
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (417) 739-2564, (417) 739-5829
Description: Sponsored by the Tablerock Art Guild for 30 years, this arts and crafts show is a great way to get some Christmas shopping done. You’ll find oil and watercolor paintings, sculptures, and a host of crafts and homemade items. Call the guild at the number above for exact dates and details.
67. Glade Top Trail Flaming Fall Revue
City: Branson, MO
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (417) 683-4594
Description: Mother Nature gives a show of color in the Ozarks that rivals that of an Ozark Mountain Christmas. You can catch the dogwoods, sumac, hickory, and various oaks at their finest in the Glade Top Trail Flaming Fall Revue when you drive the ridge roads in sections of the Mark Twain National Forest near Ava. The town has special events, and you can still catch the great farmers’ market on the town square Saturday morning. Stop at the Ava Drugstore where you can get an ice-cream cone for a nickel.
68. Ozark Mountain Country Fall Foliage Drive
City: Branson, MO
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (417) 546-2741
Description: See the Ozarks’ “golden oldies”: great hickory nut trees plus the reds and rusts of oaks and sweet gums as well as the scarlet of dogwood, sumac, and cinquefoil in this 75-mile drive. It’s a great way to see the area, a world so different from that of The Strip, so pack up a picnic lunch and the camera and plan on taking the whole day. There are always fruit stands and antiques stores as well as country stores to provide a change of pace. You can pick up a map at the Forsyth Chamber of Commerce at 16075 US 160.
69. Ozark Native Arts & Crafts Festival
City: Branson, MO
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (417) 581-6139
Description: Always the first full weekend in October, this event has grown to become one of the larger craft fairs in the Ozarks. Almost 400 vendors, crafters, and artists pack in 10,000 people in the Ozark City Park. While there, you may want to take in some of the many flea markets and antiques shops in Ozark.
70. Pumpkin Daze
City: Branson, MO
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (417) 732-3356
Description: Republic gears up for its Pumpkin Daze celebration every year on the first Saturday in October. This small town grows some of the biggest pumpkins in the nation. A recent winner, named the “Big Ugly” by its owner, was 838.5 pounds. It took four men and a forklift to move it to the weigh-in. Competition is fierce, and water bills must be high. The “Big Ugly” was estimated to gain 35 pounds each night and “drank” about 200 gallons of water a day.
71. War Eagle Mill Arts And Crafts Fair
City: Branson, MO
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (479) 789-5398
Description: For more than half a century, crowds have flocked to the biggest crafts fair in the Ozarks. Each year an estimated 135,000 people come to the free four-day fair. You’ll find more than 300 exhibitors from Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Kansas. You’ll see woodworkers, weavers, sculptors, and stained-glass artisans, as well as basket makers, painters, and jewelry artisans. It’s a great way to catch the fall colors on the drive down, see the old mill there (and perhaps buy lunch or sample some exotic items from food vendors), and pick up one-of-a-kind items at the fair for Christmas presents.The mill is 25 miles southwest of Eureka Springs, Arkansas. (See May listing for specific directions.)
72. Annual Food & Wine Weekend
City: Branson, MO
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (479) 253-8737
Description: Eureka’s finest restaurants offer special multicourse menus for three days of epicurean delight in America’s Victorian Village during the second weekend in November. From exotic wines by the glass to a seven-course Renaissance feast, you can find a taste to suit your palate almost anywhere in town. Prices vary according to the restaurant, but you can find a feast to fit any size pocketbook.
73. Candlelight Christmas Open House
City: Branson, MO
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (417) 334-1548, (888) 322-2786
Description: Although downtown Branson stores are open all year, the second weekend in December is a special time, when merchants help everyone get in the Christmas spirit by dressing in Dickens-style costumes. You’ll hear carolers on the streets, get a chance to visit with Father Christmas, enjoy the fruits of the window decorating contest, and sample cookies and hot cider.
74. Eureka Springs Annual Antique Show And Sale
City: Branson, MO
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (479) 253-7551, (866) 566-9387
Description: A repeat of the spring show; see the entry under March.
75. Festival Of Lights
City: Branson, MO
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (417) 334-4136, (800) 214-3661
Description: Branson decks the streets and businesses with millions of lights, and folks come from all around to take in the multicolored lights and the animated light scenes. Kimberling City has its Port of Lights, a spectacular 1.5-mile drive through an animated light display with the lake on three sides. Silver Dollar City is like a fairyland at night, with rides, buildings, fences, and trees covered in lights. Indian Point, just past Silver Dollar City, has its Enchanted Forest Light Display. The Shepherd of the Hills Homestead features millions of lights. And Branson has various lighting displays scattered around town, by Lake Taneycomo, and on the Branson Landing. Pack up the kids and a thermos and plan to make a night of oohing and aahing at what has become a major tourist attraction in itself.