Annual Hillbilly Fair (September)
It’s not unusual for communities in the Lake of the Ozarks area to have themed festivals that are sure to please the young and old, and everyone in between. Laurie, Missouri is no different, with its Hillbilly Fair in September. One of the keys to hosting a great festival is making it memorable enough to bring visitors back to the community and the lake region year after year.
Many lake visitors combine time at the Mountain Man Rendezvous with Laurie’s Hillbilly Fair. Highlights of the mid-September festival include great food, dancing to live music, a variety of crafts, game booths and of course the parade. If you want to rest your legs and cool your heels, there is always the beer garden.
The city of Laurie is in the west lake area, a region of tree-covered hills that was home to the Native American tribe, the Osage. The community now has more than 600 residents and retains its rural, small-town charm while offering good food, music and other activities at its annual festival. The community leaders and volunteers have been organizing this popular fair for more than 40 years, using the local fairgrounds and park property to set up food stands, games for the kids and to stage live music throughout the day. In addition to the variety of festival foods, organizers continue to offer such traditional activities as tractor pulls and horseshoe pitching.
In 2009 the Hillbilly Fair celebrated its 40th year by recognizing the people who volunteered through four decades of successful fairs and helped keep the community park and fairgrounds in good condition. The fair featured a children’s parade in the early years, an event that required a lot of volunteer help. Another tradition that began in the first couple of years was hand-made items to be used during the festival. In fact most of the structural items used during the Hillbilly Fair were made by volunteers.
The City of Laurie offers a one-page, detailed agreement for those who want to set up any sort of vending booth or activity at the fair. Vendors are strongly urged to commit to all three fair days when applying for booth space. The Hillbilly Fair in mid-September each year should not be confused with the annual Laurie Hillbilly Bar-B-Q Cook-off at the Fairgrounds in August. Dozens of teams show up each year for the event sanctioned by the Kansas City BBQ Society.
More information about Laurie and its festivals is available at http://www.cityoflaurie.com/
