Annual Dogwood Festival (Early April)
One of the most popular activities in the Lake of the Ozarks area is the annual Dogwood Festival held in April every year. This event is usually spread over four days, featuring a wide variety of food, crafts, contests, music and more. But along with the best of the current food vendors, actors, singers and craftsmen, the Dogwood Festival brings the past to life.
The first festival was held in Camdenton in 1950, in part to compete with other flower and fruit theme festivals across the country. The dogwood is one of the most beautiful flowering trees in the region, showing its best side in April and May. Only once (1965) was the activity put on hold (because of highway construction). As for the items on the daily schedule, not much has changed, though organizers don’t have coon-dog races or foxhound shows.
As part of the festival an art show is set for each of the festival days from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the First National Bank in Camdenton. Art will actually be displayed from April 12 through the end of the festival. Dogwood Festival Arts & Crafts Show activities will be held on the Camdenton Middle School grounds on Highway 5 South, starting at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. People interested in renting space for craft display should apply before April 9. Booth fee is $40.
In addition to the traditional crafts activities, the popular King and Queen Dogwood contest is scheduled for the first day of the festival. Members of the Lake Area Woodworker’s Guild will display their work beginning at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday (continuing through Sunday). The dinner theater/melodrama at the Camden County Museum highlights each night of the Dogwood Festival. Tickets are $15 per person. There is plenty of action for the young and young at heart as well, with the carnival on the Middle School parking lot every evening. One of the highlights of the annual festival is the Miss Dogwood Pageant, set for 7 p.m. Friday at the Camdenton High School auditorium.
To say that Saturday during the Dogwood Festival is a full day, well, that would be an understatement. Visitors can start their day at the pancake breakfast and craft sale beginning at 6:30 a.m. (United Methodist Church). The Dogwood Parade is the key event of the four-day festival. The action begins at 10 a.m. in downtown Camdenton. Activities come to a glorious end on Sunday with the golfers’ lunch at noon at Old Kinderhook. The annual Dogwood Golf Classic begins at 1 p.m.
More information is available at http://www.camdentonchamber.com/DogwoodFestival.htm
