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Dogwood Festival nostalgia creates "Something Magical"
LAKE OF THE OZARKS, Mo. -- The 58th annual Dogwood Festival is a good old-fashioned family-oriented festival. This year's event, scheduled for April 17-20, will feature a jam-packed lineup including music, theater, art, crafts, food, beauty pageants, a carnival, parade and much more.
“The first Dogwood Festival was held in 1950 and since then it’s become the granddaddy of all the festivals in the Lake of the Ozarks area,” says Bruce Mitchell, executive director of the Camdenton Area Chamber of Commerce. “Weather permitting, we usually have about 10,000 visitors.”
This year’s festival theme will be “Something Magical.” Mitchell explains, “It reflects the idea that the Lake area has had so much growth and so many exciting things happening, it’s almost magical.”
As in previous years, a carnival will kick off the Dogwood Festival from 5:00-10:00 p.m. Thursday at the Camdenton Middle School parking lot. The carnival will continue Friday, 5:00-10:00 p.m., and Saturday, 10:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m. Also beginning on Thursday will be the traditional Spaghetti Dinner at the Camden County Museum, starting at 5:30 p.m., followed by the hanky-clutching melodrama, “Little Nell, the Orphan Girl,” by Nelson Goodhue, at 7:00 p.m. The Dinner Theater Melodrama also will be presented Friday and Saturday nights.
Also on Thursday, the Senior (65+) King and Queen Dogwood Contest will take place at noon at the Quails Nest Motel in Osage Beach. The Little Mister, Little Miss, Junior Miss and Teen Miss Dogwood contests will follow on Friday at the Camdenton Middle School Little Theater, while the Miss Dogwood Pageant will be held at the new Camdenton High School auditorium. Both events will start at 7:00 p.m.
On Friday from 4:00-7:00 p.m., the popular Camdenton Lion’s Club Fish Fry at the Middle School Cafeteria will attract hungry festival-goers. Outside on the Middle School parking lot, rockers Echoes Origin will perform from 6:00-9:00 p.m. while the carnival continues. The Camdenton High School DECA marketing group will sponsor a craft show and sale with work from more than 50 Missouri and Midwest artisans at Dogwood Elementary School, 5:30-8:00 p.m. Friday, and 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Saturday.
On Saturday, visitors can start their day with a hearty pancake breakfast and craft sale, 6:30-9:30 a.m. at United Methodist Church. Afterward, the much-anticipated 100-unit Dogwood Parade will kick off in downtown Camdenton at 10:00 a.m. This year the Grand Marshal will be Elizabeth Webb Majors, age 80, whose parents, Clint and Ina Webb, were the first to settle in Camdenton in November, 1930. The colorful parade will feature more than 100 units, including a dozen or more floats, marching bands, equestrians, Shriners, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, and other riding and walking groups. “Since it’s an election year we expect a lot of politicians, too,” Mitchell says. “If you live in Camdenton, you’re either in the parade or watching it, waving or being waved at. Everyone always enjoys it.”
Visitors will make their way around a wide array of food and craft booths offering tempting treats and treasures, from 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. Saturday. Personable pooches will compete for barking rights in the Dogwood Dog Contest, 2:30-4:00 p.m. at the Middle School parking lot, also the location of free musical entertainment from 1:00-9:00 p.m.
Saturday, featuring “jazzabillie” favorites Jimmy and Starla Queen & Company from 1:00-2:00 p.m., the contemporary Christian performers Color of Mercy from 4:00-4:30 p.m., and Eric Mitchell from 4:30-5:00 p.m., alternative rockers Midnight 3-13 from 5:00-6:00 p.m., and the classic and country rock group 100 Proof from 6:00-9:00 p.m. Other entertainment will include martial arts and gymnastics demonstrations.
The festival will feature two new events this year, both expected to become annual features. The first-ever Dogwood 5K Fun Run/Walk to benefit the Child Advocacy Council will start at 7:00 a.m. Saturday at Linn Creek Industrial Park. And the first Shoebox Float Contest will challenge kids in kindergarten through sixth grade to create imaginative mini parade floats out of shoeboxes. Judging will take place on Thursday and the floats will be displayed at the Camden County Museum through Sunday.
Also on Saturday, fabulous hand-made quilts by the Cabin Fever Quilters will be on view, 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m., at Community Christian Church. The Woodworkers Guild will also be there, demonstrating their craft. Later on Saturday, the Band Booster Silent Auction will start at 7:00 p.m. at Mexicali Blues restaurant in Osage Beach.
Festival activities also will include a fine arts show and sale at First National Bank, 8:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Visitors also can stop by two big garage sales: St. Anthony’s Garage Sale, 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Friday, and 8:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Saturday, and Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. Friday, and 8:00 a.m.-noon Saturday. The festival will wrap up with the annual Dogwood Golf Classic at Old Kinderhook, preceded by a lunch for tournament participants. All proceeds will benefit the Band Boosters.
Dogwood Festival sponsors include U.S. Cellular, Central Bank of the Lake of the Ozarks, First National Bank, Allee-Holman-Howe Funeral Home, Allied Waste Services, KCLQ-107.9 The Coyote, Knights of Columbus, KRMS Radio, KS-95, KQUL and 92.7 The Mix, Laclede Electric Cooperative, Lake Regional Health System, Ozark Coca-Cola/Dr. Pepper and Sleep Inn.
“Especially after a cold and snowy winter, people are ready to get outdoors,” Mitchell says. “Visiting the Dogwood Festival is a great way to do that and celebrate the arrival of spring with the promise of the season’s first flowers on the dogwood trees.”
For more details about the Dogwood Festival, including the most current schedule of events, visit www.camdentonchamber.com or contact the Camdenton Area Chamber of Commerce at 800-769-1004 or 573-346-2227. And for more information about other family-friendly events, plus lodging, dining, attractions and shopping at Central Missouri’s famous Lake of the Ozarks, call 800-FUN-LAKE (386-5253) or visit the Lake of the Ozarks Convention & Visitor Bureau’s web site, www.funlake.com.
Subscribe To Lake Alerts“The first Dogwood Festival was held in 1950 and since then it’s become the granddaddy of all the festivals in the Lake of the Ozarks area,” says Bruce Mitchell, executive director of the Camdenton Area Chamber of Commerce. “Weather permitting, we usually have about 10,000 visitors.”
This year’s festival theme will be “Something Magical.” Mitchell explains, “It reflects the idea that the Lake area has had so much growth and so many exciting things happening, it’s almost magical.”
As in previous years, a carnival will kick off the Dogwood Festival from 5:00-10:00 p.m. Thursday at the Camdenton Middle School parking lot. The carnival will continue Friday, 5:00-10:00 p.m., and Saturday, 10:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m. Also beginning on Thursday will be the traditional Spaghetti Dinner at the Camden County Museum, starting at 5:30 p.m., followed by the hanky-clutching melodrama, “Little Nell, the Orphan Girl,” by Nelson Goodhue, at 7:00 p.m. The Dinner Theater Melodrama also will be presented Friday and Saturday nights.
Also on Thursday, the Senior (65+) King and Queen Dogwood Contest will take place at noon at the Quails Nest Motel in Osage Beach. The Little Mister, Little Miss, Junior Miss and Teen Miss Dogwood contests will follow on Friday at the Camdenton Middle School Little Theater, while the Miss Dogwood Pageant will be held at the new Camdenton High School auditorium. Both events will start at 7:00 p.m.
On Friday from 4:00-7:00 p.m., the popular Camdenton Lion’s Club Fish Fry at the Middle School Cafeteria will attract hungry festival-goers. Outside on the Middle School parking lot, rockers Echoes Origin will perform from 6:00-9:00 p.m. while the carnival continues. The Camdenton High School DECA marketing group will sponsor a craft show and sale with work from more than 50 Missouri and Midwest artisans at Dogwood Elementary School, 5:30-8:00 p.m. Friday, and 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Saturday.
On Saturday, visitors can start their day with a hearty pancake breakfast and craft sale, 6:30-9:30 a.m. at United Methodist Church. Afterward, the much-anticipated 100-unit Dogwood Parade will kick off in downtown Camdenton at 10:00 a.m. This year the Grand Marshal will be Elizabeth Webb Majors, age 80, whose parents, Clint and Ina Webb, were the first to settle in Camdenton in November, 1930. The colorful parade will feature more than 100 units, including a dozen or more floats, marching bands, equestrians, Shriners, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, and other riding and walking groups. “Since it’s an election year we expect a lot of politicians, too,” Mitchell says. “If you live in Camdenton, you’re either in the parade or watching it, waving or being waved at. Everyone always enjoys it.”
Visitors will make their way around a wide array of food and craft booths offering tempting treats and treasures, from 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. Saturday. Personable pooches will compete for barking rights in the Dogwood Dog Contest, 2:30-4:00 p.m. at the Middle School parking lot, also the location of free musical entertainment from 1:00-9:00 p.m.
Saturday, featuring “jazzabillie” favorites Jimmy and Starla Queen & Company from 1:00-2:00 p.m., the contemporary Christian performers Color of Mercy from 4:00-4:30 p.m., and Eric Mitchell from 4:30-5:00 p.m., alternative rockers Midnight 3-13 from 5:00-6:00 p.m., and the classic and country rock group 100 Proof from 6:00-9:00 p.m. Other entertainment will include martial arts and gymnastics demonstrations.
The festival will feature two new events this year, both expected to become annual features. The first-ever Dogwood 5K Fun Run/Walk to benefit the Child Advocacy Council will start at 7:00 a.m. Saturday at Linn Creek Industrial Park. And the first Shoebox Float Contest will challenge kids in kindergarten through sixth grade to create imaginative mini parade floats out of shoeboxes. Judging will take place on Thursday and the floats will be displayed at the Camden County Museum through Sunday.
Also on Saturday, fabulous hand-made quilts by the Cabin Fever Quilters will be on view, 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m., at Community Christian Church. The Woodworkers Guild will also be there, demonstrating their craft. Later on Saturday, the Band Booster Silent Auction will start at 7:00 p.m. at Mexicali Blues restaurant in Osage Beach.
Festival activities also will include a fine arts show and sale at First National Bank, 8:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Visitors also can stop by two big garage sales: St. Anthony’s Garage Sale, 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Friday, and 8:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Saturday, and Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. Friday, and 8:00 a.m.-noon Saturday. The festival will wrap up with the annual Dogwood Golf Classic at Old Kinderhook, preceded by a lunch for tournament participants. All proceeds will benefit the Band Boosters.
Dogwood Festival sponsors include U.S. Cellular, Central Bank of the Lake of the Ozarks, First National Bank, Allee-Holman-Howe Funeral Home, Allied Waste Services, KCLQ-107.9 The Coyote, Knights of Columbus, KRMS Radio, KS-95, KQUL and 92.7 The Mix, Laclede Electric Cooperative, Lake Regional Health System, Ozark Coca-Cola/Dr. Pepper and Sleep Inn.
“Especially after a cold and snowy winter, people are ready to get outdoors,” Mitchell says. “Visiting the Dogwood Festival is a great way to do that and celebrate the arrival of spring with the promise of the season’s first flowers on the dogwood trees.”
For more details about the Dogwood Festival, including the most current schedule of events, visit www.camdentonchamber.com or contact the Camdenton Area Chamber of Commerce at 800-769-1004 or 573-346-2227. And for more information about other family-friendly events, plus lodging, dining, attractions and shopping at Central Missouri’s famous Lake of the Ozarks, call 800-FUN-LAKE (386-5253) or visit the Lake of the Ozarks Convention & Visitor Bureau’s web site, www.funlake.com.
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