Welcome to Hootin an Hollarin

Welcome to the 64th annual Hootin an Hollarin festival on the Gainesville square! We’re tickled to have you here to laugh, dance, eat and celebrate everything that makes Ozark County the best place on earth.

Our theme this year is “Neighbors Helping Neighbors,” and I don’t know of a better way to describe the folks who keep us safe and keep things running. During this festival, we’re honoring officers with the Ozark County Sheriff’s Department, ambulance crews, volunteer fire departments, first responders, electric cooperatives, MoDOT, Ozark County’s road and bridge workers, county commissioners, local city employees and our own Emergency Management Director, Curtis Ledbetter. These are the folks who roll up their sleeves when the rest of us are in a bind, and we sure are grateful.

This year, that theme hits especially close to home. On March 14, a tornado tore through Bakersfield, leaving homes and families shaken. Since then, we’ve weathered round after round of flooding and other challenges that have left these hills scarred and worn. But out of all that heartache came something beautiful, neighbors stepping up for neighbors in ways you can only find in small-town America. From picking up chainsaws and shovels, to cooking hot meals, to lending a shoulder to cry on Ozark County has shown its true colors. And that is what we’re celebrating this year.

We’re also proud to tip our hats to this year’s Hootin an Hollarin Parade Marshal, Greg Watts, Chief of the Bakersfield Volunteer Fire Department. Chief Watts and his crew, like so many across the Ozarks, have been in the thick of it, standing tall through fires, floods, tornado damage and everything in between. We couldn’t ask for a finer example of courage and neighborly love.

More old-time demonstrations than ever

There’ll be 14 demonstrators showing off the “old-timey” ways at Hootin an Hollarin this year, giving folks a chance to see how things were made and done back in the good, old days. You’ll find many of them tucked under the shade trees on the courthouse lawn, so don’t just stop at the vendor booths. Wander on back and take a peek. Their positions are listed on this year's Hootin an Hollarin booth map, available inside the festival guide, online at www.hootinanhollarin.com, on the Ozark County Times Facebook page or Hootin an Hollarin Facebook page. 

Handicapped parking

We’ve been able to bring back handicapped parking, so everyone can get close to the action. The handicapped spots are located:

• between Farm Bureau and the Ozark County Christian Thrift Store on Main Street;

• Near the GHS seniors’ fundraising parking lot, located across from the Ozark County Christian Thrift Store and City Hall;

• On the sides of the roadway on Fourth Street up to Harlin Drive.

Flushable toilets

We’ve also added eight brand-new flushable bathrooms (yes, with real handwashing stations and even air conditioning!). They will be included inside restroom trailers set up in the parking lot of Century Bank of the Ozarks and at the south end of the Main stage bleachers.

Added square dance platform

And dancers, you’re in for a treat -  we’ve built a new square dance platform so there’s plenty of room to do-si-do under the September stars.

Inside this guide

It’s worth taking some time to sit down with this year's Hootin an Hollarin festival guide (available at the Ozark County Times office now, the information booth at the festival or online at https://www.ozarkcountytimes.com/hootin-hollarin-magazine/2025-hootin-ho...) to get a real feel for all that Hootin an Hollarin offers. There truly is something for everyone at this down-home celebration of ours. 

If you find yourself at the festival with questions, don’t hesitate to stop by the information booth, located just to the right of the Main stage. There’ll be some helpful festival volunteers there that can tell you everything you need to know. 

See y’all on the square!

From the first fiddle tune to the last square dance call, Hootin an Hollarin is all about coming together, laughing with old friends, making new ones and keeping our traditions alive. 

So kick up your heels, grab yourself a funnel cake, and let’s make some memories.

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Hootin an Hollarin is set for Sept. 18-20, on the Gainesville square.