Queen pageant kicks off H&H festival tonight

Welcome to the 62nd celebration of Hootin an Hollarin, one of the longest-running festivals in Missouri. 

For the next three days, the Gainesville square will be transformed from its normal quiet, week-day business tempo into a vibrant mixture of music, talented crafters, old-time demonstrators and down-home chefs serving up Ozarks culture and heritage, past and present. 

This year’s festival, which kicks off at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 21, and continues until midnight or later Saturday night, Sept. 23, has been widely anticipated by many festival goers. 

As of Monday, the weather forecast predicts comfortable highs in the low 80s and low temperatures likely be in the low-60s. According to the forecast at presstime Tuesday, there’s a less than 40 percent chance of scattered thunderstorms all three days of the festival, and organizers are keeping their fingers crossed for no rain.

This year’s festival centers around the theme “The Best of Yesterday.” In keeping with the theme, Hootin an Hollarin chairperson Paula Rose said there will be more than a dozen old-time demonstrators at the festival. 

Thursday, Sept. 21

The festival kicks off Thursday at 5:30 p.m. with the National Anthem sang by young musician Jessica Suit, followed by the Gainesville Mayor Gail Reich’s official festival welcome. Suit and another young musician, fiddler Regan Blackburn, will then perform a few songs. 

The Finley River Boys take the main stage at 6 p.m. with their high-energy, acoustic bluegrass tunes. 

At 7:30 p.m. the annual queen pageant will be held. While the judges are tallying their votes, the 2023 Barney Douglas Citizen of the Year, Karen Brantingham, and this year’s 2023 Hootin an Hollarin parade marshals, Kenny and LaVese Ericksen, will be honored on stage. 

The night ends with square dancing to live music from 9 p.m. to midnight. 

Friday, Sept. 22

On Friday, the Shelter Insurance Kids Corner opens from 10 a.m. to noon offering free fun for kiddos attending the festival including the 10:30 a.m. terrapin race (kids should bring their own terrapin to race but are asked not to paint or decorate its shell - and to return it to where it was found after the race to help ensure its continued survival). Sign up begins at 10 a.m.

The main stage entertainment begins at 11 a.m. with the Gainesville High School choir, followed by 13-year-old country singer Wyatt Dodge at noon and the One More Dollar Band at 12:30 p.m. with its self-described “Ozarkana” music. Gazebo pickin’ will be held throughout the afternoon on the courthouse lawn. 

The Lil’ Cedar Pete and Lil’ Miss Addie Lee contest, open to 4- and 5-year-old boys, will be held at 2 p.m. followed by the princess pageants (open to girls in first through sixth grades who are pre-registered for the event) at 2:45 p.m. on the main stage. Both contests are free to enter. 

Free old-fashioned kids games will be offered on the courthouse lawn near the gazebo from 4 to 5 p.m.. 

The Emalee Flatness Band, led by a young singer/songwriter who has a passion for preserving the music that originated in the Ozarks and Appalachian hills, will play at 4 p.m. 

Two of the most fun - and funniest - events of the whole festival will be held on the west side of the square on the stretch of Main Street between City Hall and Molly’s Salon and Boutique. The bed races kick off at 5 p.m. there, followed by the 5:30 p.m. outhouse races. Teams of five are encouraged to compete. There is no entry fee. Early sign up is helpful but not mandatory and can be done just prior to the events. 

The catchy tunes from Backyard Bluegrass will be coming from the main stage at 5:30 p.m. followed by the upbeat country music group Psychobilly Cadillac Band, at 7:30 p.m.. Festival-goers can expect the band to play country music from the ‘90s and 2000s, along with more modern hits. 

The four Ozark County high school FFA chapters will be leading their own show at the FFA Bull Blast bullriding event at the Gainesville Saddle Club Arena, located a few blocks off the square on Main Street. Entry is $10 for adults and $5 for students. 

Square dancing will again be held on the platforms in front of the main stage from 9 p.m. to midnight. 

Saturday, Sept. 23

On Saturday, the annual Hillbilly 5k run/walk will begin in front of Century Bank of the Ozarks on the square. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. ($25 per person registration fee with all funds benefitting the Gainesville High School running programs), and the race begins at 8:30 a.m.

The annual shotgun and archery shoot will be held at 9 a.m. in its usual location, across Highway 160 from the square in the grassy area below the roadway. There’s no need to pre-register, but those who wish to enter should show up before 9 a.m. It costs $3 to enter each round of the competition (per shot for shotgun and per four targets for archery), and there will be a 100 percent payout in Town & Country Supermarket gift certificates. 

The pet show, free and open to pets of all shapes, sizes and varieties, will be held on the main stage at 10 a.m. Registration begins at 9 a.m. and sign up will be cut off at 9:30 a.m. No late participants allowed due to scheduling.

The free fun at Shelter Insurance Kids Corner will be back on Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon with another free terrapin race at 10:30 (sign up at  10 a.m.). 

A cornhole tournament, free to enter for groups of two of any ages, will begin at 10 a.m. in the parking lot off the northwest corner of the square (across from City Hall). Sign up begins at 9:30 a.m.

The annual costume contest (free and open to all ages of hillbilly- and pioneer-clad participants) will be held at 11 a.m. on the main stage. Sign up beforehand behind the stage.

The sweet and delicious pie-baking competition will be held inside the Shelter Insurance building off the southwest corner of the square at 11:30 a.m. Pies should be brought before then. The competition is free to enter, and all types of pies are welcome. After the winners are announced on the main stage, the office will be opened (likely around 12:30 or so) for guests to come and sample the winning pies. 

The main stage entertainment will kick off Saturday at noon with former Pontiac resident Rob Voss, who is heading home for the weekend to entertain crowds with classic country along with some rock and roll hits from the ‘60s and ‘70s. District 33, a group of young bluegrass musicians, will take the stage at 1 p.m. followed by the recognition of the 2023 Ozark County Farm Family, the VanRankens, and an honored Ozark County Century Farm and its owner Debbie Cooper just before the 2 p.m. parade. Another session of afternoon gazebo pickin’ will occur at the gazebo on the courthouse lawn. 

The big parade will make its way up Main Street by Town & Country Supermarket at 2 p.m., making a round on the square and exiting on the southwest corner near Shelter Insurance. Good viewing can be had just about anywhere along the route. 

Just after the parade, Shelter Insurance-Douglas Hawkins Agency is sponsoring a free magic show in its office off the southwest corner of the square. At the same time, the calling contests, where contestants give their best cow, pig, turkey and husband calls, will be held on the main stage. 

The afternoon will include a 3:30 p.m. show by Come What Mae, the Hootin an Hollarin stage band, followed by a performance by the Simply Southern Cloggers at 4 p.m. Then Sylamore Special, a highly anticipated bluegrass band that has racked up a number of impressive awards, will take the main stage at 5 p.m. followed by a 7 p.m. show by the Kattie Laney Project, a crowd favorite playing a wide-variety of top hits from the 1960s to today. 

The festival will end with the last session of square dancing, held from 9 a.m. to midnight Saturday night.  

Quilt show viewing 

The annual quilt show will be held in a building on the east side of the square behind the main stage bleachers. Visitors can view the quilts from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 21; from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 22; and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 23. 

In addition to a number of awards given by the quilt show judges, those attending are encouraged to pick their favorite quilt and “vote” for it by adding a sticker to its information sheet. At the end of the festival, the quilt with the most stickers will be named the People’s Choice winner. 

Find out more

To see more information about each of these events, booth map, information on the bands and more, check out this year’s Hootin an Hollarin festival guide. 

It’s available for free at the Ozark County Times office, at the Hootin an Hollarin festival booth near the main stage at the festival or online at www.ozarkcountytimes.com/2023-hootin-hollarin.