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.

Spring Returns to Lake of the Ozarks

Spring is off to a slow start at Central Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks with a late March winter weather system moving through the area. Rest assured, we will soon be seeing warmer days and greener grass with redbuds and dogwoods blooming all around The Lake.

Within the next three to four weeks, Lake of the Ozarks will not only come alive with colorful blooms, but activity on the water will also return as our waterfront restaurants open their doors for the 2013 season. Some have already taken a start to the season by opening as early as the second week of March. Always check websites and/or call ahead to make sure your favorite lakefront establishments, golf courses and area attractions are open before heading out at this time of year.

Springtime around the Lake Area also means the return of some of our favorite events. The granddaddy of all spring festivals, The Dogwood Festival is back for its 63rd consecutive year. Make plans to visit Camdenton, MO on April 18th through the 20th to enjoy everything that this celebration of spring has to offer such as the arts & crafts show, pageants, live entertainment, the area's largest parade, the 5K Fun Run, the golf tournament, garage sales, a fish fry & hog roast, and a great carnival midway for the kids. Visit the Camdenton Area Chamber of Commerce's website for more information and a full schedule of events: http://camdentonchamber.com/DogwoodFestival.htm


Other April events and happenings around The Lake include Jacob's Cave Swapping Days, The Great Lake of the Ozarks Gospel Sing, the Big Bass Bass fishing tournament, the MidCoast Bike Run, various golf tournaments and musical and dramatic performances. Visit www.funlakeevents.com for details on all of these events and more. Happy Spring!