Original Ozark Folk Festival
Thursday, September 05, 2024 at 06:00pm
Original Ozark Folk Festival
The Auditorium
36 South Main Street
The Original Ozark Festival is ready for its 77th year with a new date and more music and workshops than ever before. This year we celebrate the Strings in the Springs with workshops for fingerpicking, flat-picking, uke and mandolin, as well as jig dancing & spoons. The Ozark Songwriting competition is back showcasing songwriters from all over the country. Enjoy the Folk Fair in Basin Park with Ozark artists and Craftspeople on Friday and Saturday. Come to Eureka’s Original Ozark Folk Festival for three nights and three days of music, fun, and folk.
Schedule:
6:00pm: Hedgehoppers & Youth Talent Showcase at The Auditorium
Get ready for a heartwarming tradition that’s been going strong for 77 years - the Hedgehoppers! This class of third graders from Eureka Springs performs a traditional Ozark dance and song, preserving a form of Ozark square dancing that’s been around since 1947. For over 70 years, every third grader has had the chance to participate as a Hedgehopper, making it a beloved and cherished tradition that brings the entire town together. And this year, we’re taking it up a notch – upper classes will also be showing off their musical talents. Don’t miss out on this incredible showcase of talent and tradition at the Hedgehoppers!
8:00pm: Barefoot Ball at The Auditorium Lower Level
Join us for a night of folky fun and dance! Chucky Waggs & The Company of Raggs will take the stage with their foot-stomping folk rock bluegrass mix this year. You can take your shoes off or leave them on but you will be dancing the night away. The Barefoot Ball will take place in the Historic City Auditorium Basement with its original wooden dance floor.
Chucky Waggs is a multi-instrumentalist, singer/songwriter and recording artist based out of the hills of Eureka Springs, AR. Chucky Waggs plays a mix of acoustic and electric guitar, 5 string and tenor banjo, dobro, resophonic guitar, harmonica, musical saw and kazoo, while using his feet to stomp out the backbeat on a thrown together drum kit during live performances. Drawing influences from early American roots music, as well as early punk and rock and roll, joining him on stage is his "Company of Raggs" adding to the energy and dynamic of his original material. The result ranges from intimate, often humorous, folk ballads, to all out rowdy stomp alongs.
Opening the night is Jesse Dean. Dean’s edgy blues-rock originals showcase soulful bass lines, muscular lead and rhythm guitar, vibrating riffs, and sultry jams. Jesse was born and raised in a green, rocky hollow a few miles from Winslow, Arkansas, in a house with a piano for every room, walls hung with guitars and banjos, and a tin roof for rainy-day percussion. His skill as a musician is homegrown.
