2018 Lake Race Brings High-Speed Action To The Lake Of The Ozarks

A week of speed-themed activities bookends one of the fastest-paced events at the Lake of the Ozarks, the 2018 Lake Race, Saturday, June 2.

The Lake Race is one of two powerboat races that take place at the "Best Recreational Lake" in the Nation and features some of the fastest boats from all over the country as they compete for big prize money and bragging rights.   

Leading up to the main event, there are several Lake Race festivities, including the "Festival of Speed" on Thursday, May 31. The Festival of Speed takes place at Big Thunder Marine Showroom, 3401 Bagnell Dam Boulevard in Lake Ozark, and features both indoor and outdoor exhibits of many models, shapes and sizes of fast boats. The Festival of Speed runs from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m.

On Friday, June 1, the lower area of the historic Bagnell Dam Strip in Lake Ozark, from west end of the "Strip" to the dam, will shut down to traffic and transform into the Lake Race headquarters. There will be a  Lake Race Street Party at 5 p.m., complete with a family-friendly race "village" where the public can meet the racers and check out all the impressive power boats.

The official Offshore Powerboat Association-sanctioned Lake Race gets underway on Saturday morning with the opening ceremonies beginning at 10:40 a.m.  at Beavers at the Dam restaurant, 1076 Bagnell Dam Boulevard. All the high-speed excitement kicks off at 11 a.m. as competitors thunder across the officially designated four-mile race course to see who can clock the fastest  time. The races last until 5 p.m., at which point all competitors will have completed their heats. There will be designated anchor spots along the course for attendees viewing the races from their boats. On land, spectators will be able to watch all the thrilling action from prime viewing spots along Bagnell Dam as well as at many of the sponsoring establishments as boats run from the zero-mile marker to the four-mile marker of the Lake of the Ozarks. 

The winners of the 2018 Lake Race will be announced that evening during the award ceremony held at Camden on the Lake Resort, 2359 Bittersweet Road in Lake Ozark. Afterward, back at the Bagnell Dam Strip, there will be an after-party with live music and entertainment.  

In the days following the boat race, other events include the Lake Race Poker Run from Camden on the Lake on Friday, June 8, the Lake Race 5K fun run/walk race along the Bagnell Dam Strip on Saturday, June 9 and the "Paddle Battle" kayak race at Super Dave's Paddlecraft Adventures located at Frankie and Louie's Beachfront Bar and Grill, 1028 Deer Valley Park in Sunrise Beach, on Tuesday, June 12.

For more details on all the 2018  Lake  Race events and a full list of viewing locations and participating sponsors, visit www.LakeRace.com.  

To get additional information about all the fun  events,  attractions  as well as  dining  and lodging options available  at the "Best Recreational Lake" in the nation, call the  Lake of the Ozarks Convention & Visitor Bureau  (CVB) at  800-FUN-LAKE , or visit the CVB's award-winning website at  www.FunLake.com . 

Another Weekend of Great Events on the Historic Bagnell Dam Strip

LAKE OF THE OZARKS BLUES & BBQ WEEKEND

See amateur and professional chefs try to "smoke" the competition and enjoy cool blues music during the second annual Lake of the Ozarks Blues and BBQ Weekend, May 17-18, on the historic Bagnell Dam Strip in Lake Ozark. This Kansas City Barbeque Society-sanctioned event is open to the public and features a barbeque cook-off, live blues music, a vendor village, and all-you-can-eat barbeque for $5. On Saturday, visitors can catch a shuttle to and from the Blues & BBQ festivities to the nearby Oma and Noma Heritage Festival activities to enjoy even more great music and great Lake-area fun. For more information about the event or about how to enter the cook-off, contact Jon Hartenstein at 573-480-9866 or visit www.lakebbq.com.

OMA AND NOMA HERITAGE FESTIVAL
Travel back in time during the Oma and Noma Heritage Festival on Saturday, May 18, on the historic Bagnell Dam Strip in Lake Ozark. This festival celebrates Oma and Noma Degraffenreid, the two ladies who were the first to travel across Bagnell Dam when it opened in 1931. The festival features arts and crafts, vintage automobiles, Ozark storytellers, pageants, Bagnell Dam tours, a dog show and much more. There are a couple new features to this year's festival, including live music that progresses through the decades as the day goes on featuring blues, bluegrass and Ozark folk music in the morning, live jazz from the '30s and '40s in the afternoon, and classics from the '50s, '60s and '70s in the evening. And,
since this year's event is held in conjunction with the Blues & BBQ Weekend, visitors will be able to catch a shuttle to and from both events. To find out about all things Oma and Noma, visit www.omanomaheritagefestival.com

2013 Events Continue to Warm Up Lake of the Ozarks

Events at Central Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks continue to pick up steam this weekend, May 10 - 12, with two big happenings centered around the Historic Bagnell Dam Strip.

Hot Summer Nights, a five-part automobile cruising series spectacular, returns for another season of cars, music, food and family fun on the historic Bagnell Dam Strip (Business Hwy. 54) in Lake Ozark. The series begins on May 10 from 6 until 11 p.m., and continues once a month on select Fridays during the summer (June 14, July 12, Aug. 9 and Sep. 6). Admission and cruise participation is free. In addition to food and drink, each Hot Summer Nights event features a live DJ, caricature artists, street-performing clowns, helicopter rides and other forms of entertainment. For more information about Hot Summer Nights, call the Lake Area Chamber at 800-451-4117, visit the event's website at CruiseHotSummerNights.com or visit the event's Facebook page at facebook.com/cruisehotsummernights for additional updates.

May 10 - 12 will see the return of The Bagnell Dam Rendezvous, a favorite event that has been absent from the Lake Area for the past few years. Located in the campgrounds below Bagnell Dam (the Osage River side of the dam), the Rendezvous is a step back in Missouri history as participants will set up camp as settlers and travelers did more than 100 years ago. There will be a blacksmith shop, Irish Pub with Irish creme soda, traders, craftsmen, demonstrations, black powder shoots, archery competition by KOSH Trading and Post Archery, hawk and knife throwing, fire starting, kids fishing contest, and more. There's also a potluck and live music on Saturday. Cost is $2 and children under 15 are free. Call the Dam Baitshop for camping fees. 573-365-9135.

First Big Weekend of the 2013 Season for Lake of the Ozarks

Central Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks is heating up the late spring season with the first big weekend of 2013 with two of the Lake Area's favorite events. By land or by lake, there is something for everyone the weekend of May 3rd through May 5th.

Celebrate automotive excellence and enjoy great family fun at the Magic Dragon Street Meet Nationals' silver anniversary on May 3-5 on the historic Bagnell Dam Strip (Business Hwy. 54) in Lake Ozark. The Street Meet Nationals, now in its 25th year, is a nationally-known, open-class car show, featuring all makes, models and years of cars, trucks and motorcycles. Each year, thousands of spectators attend this automotive festival to view over a thousand of the country's finest custom autos and motos. The Magic Dragon Street Meet's other attraction, the Generation NEXT Magic Dragon (located at Monarch Plaza in Lake Ozark), returns for its third year. GenNext runs May 3-4 and is specifically designed for the next generation of car enthusiasts. The GenNEXT location features tuner cars (Scion and other imports) and other highly customized foreign and domestic rides. Each Magic Dragon festival location features vendor villages, music, DJs and plenty of fun for the entire family. Admission is free. Judging-by-classification also is set to return to the Street Meet Nationals this year. Entry fee for these judging contests will be $5, with judging classes to be announced in the upcoming weeks.  For more information on this event, call 800-451-4117 or visit the Magic Dragon website at MagicDragonCarShow.com. 

The Spring Harbor Hop, May 4, starts the 2013 boating season at Lake of the Ozarks. This event, sponsored by the Lake of the Ozarks Convention & Visitor Bureau, is a boating festival in which participants "hop" (by water or land) to and from waterfront restaurants and marinas to draw playing cards and build a winning poker hand for prizes. Players can donate $15 per seven-card hand and start the hop by drawing their first card at any of the sponsoring restaurants and marinas along the Lake's main channel, the Big Niangua and Gravois arms. For more information about the Harbor Hop, call800-FUN-LAKE (386-5253). For a full list of participating Harbor Hop locations and event hours, visit FunLake.com/HarborHop.