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.

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!

Louise Harrison's Liverpool Legends Take the Lake Stage

Their equipment has been unloaded and the Main Street Music Hall stage in Osage Beach is being set for what has become our favorite annual Spring performances at The Lake. This marks the 5th year that Louise Harrison's Liverpool Legends have brought their show to Central Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks. 

For those that don't know who she is, Louise Harrison is the sister of the late George Harrison. Louise hand-picked every member of the Liverpool Legends to pay tribute to her famous brother's band, The Beatles. The band has been playing to sold out crowds around the world and headlining their own production in Branson, Missouri since 2006. Every aspect of the Liverpool Legends show perfectly replicates The Beatles look and sound as they play favorite songs that span the entire Beatles catalog. Aside from seeing Paul McCartney or Ringo Star in concert, this is as close to the real Beatles experience as one can get. 

Limited tickets are still available for both shows, Friday March 8th and Saturday, March 9th. Call us at 573-348-1599 to reserve your seats. We are honored to have Liverpool Legends return for their 5th consecutive year and look forward to them coming back for many years to come. If you can't catch the shows this year, mark your calendar for the first weekend of March 2014, as we have every intention of bringing Liverpool Legends back for their 6th annual performance at Lake of the Ozarks.

The Official 2013 Lake of the Ozarks Vacation & Service Guide

We at the Lake of the Ozarks Convention & Visitor Bureau (CVB) are excited to announce the launch of the Official 2013 ONLINE Lake of the Ozarks Vacation & Service Guide.  The online version of the guide is a great tool for visitors that are planning their trips last minute and/or online. The online version may be viewed at www.funlakevacationguide.com.

In addition to the publication now being online, we are already “On the Road” with the Official 2013 Vacation & Service Guide, traveling to 12 boat, sport and travel shows throughout a five state area. The CVB office mails physical copies of the Vacation & Service Guide to potential visitors, second homeowners and people relocating and requesting information about the Lake. Our publication is also distributed at five local Chamber of Commerce locations, Missouri Visitor Centers throughout the state, AAA offices in seven states, as well as travel agents in twenty four states. The publication is also distributed through our members’ locations in the Lake Area reaching both locals and visitors.

“The Lake of the Ozarks CVB is always looking for ways to promote its members and the 2013 Vacation & Service Guide is the best way to accomplish that task.  We offer the publication online which gives the member another opportunity to get their ad viewed,” states, Tim Jacobsen, Executive Director for the CVB. 

Request your free physical copy of the Official 2013 Vacation & Service Guide at www.funlake.com/vg or call (800) 386-5253. And, as always, visit www.funlake.com for information on Lake Area events, lodging, dining, attractions, golf and more.

 

Lake of the Ozarks Mardi Gras Pub Crawl 2013

A night of entertainment, food and fun awaits guests, Saturday, February 16, 2013.

 

Photo by Rita Rose, courtesy of LakeExpo.com

The 12th Annual Mardi Gras Pub Crawl has become one of the Lake's most popular winter activities and continues to draw increasingly larger crowds each year. Last year, the event had an estimated attendance of over 6,000, with even more expected this year.

"Our festival is helping to attract more and more winter visitors to the Lake every year," said Mardi Gras Pub Crawl organizer Jeff Carroll. "A lot of people who attend the festival reserve a room and schedule a weekend getaway around the event. This year, with Presidents' Day, they'll have a three-day weekend to shop, sightsee and explore. Winter is a beautiful time at the Lake and this event allows us to showcase a lot of the great things we have to offer. We have great fishing in the winter. We're the home of the largest outlet mall in Missouri. We also have five wineries and two state parks. And if the weather is good, you can golf at one or more of our 15 area courses. And I'm only mentioning a few of the attractions we have in the area. I think visitors are discovering that the Lake of the Ozarks is a year-around travel destination." 

Photo by Rita Rose, courtesy of LakeExpo.com

Eleven years ago, the Mardi Gras Pub Crawl started with just eight locations and four 16-passenger buses. This year, patrons will have the convenience of 26 full-sized buses, the variety of 20 nightspots and restaurants and the assurance of a safe, fun evening.

"Our message to our guests is to ride the bus, be safe and have fun," said Carroll. "We're all about safety and responsibility. We just want to make sure that everyone has a good time. I think one of the reasons that our pub crawl is so popular is because we offer safe transportation to and from each location from start to finish. We have a uniformed security guard on each bus and we work closely with the local police department to make sure that when you attend the Mardi Gras Pub Crawl, you can put your keys away and have a fantastic worry-free evening out on the town."

Photo by Rita Rose, courtesy of LakeExpo.com

To ride the buses, festival-goers must purchase a $7 wristband that includes entry into all participating restaurants and nightspots, bus transportation between all pub crawl locations and pick ups/drop offs at participating hotels, motels and resorts. A wristband can be purchased in advance or on the night of the event at restaurants/nightspots on the route.

The fleet of 26 buses will transport attendees on a continuous circuit of all 20 bars and restaurants. The buses will make numerous stops at each venue and will make drop-offs at hotels, motels and resorts. Buses begin departing from partner hotels, motels and resorts at 3 p.m. and will run on the circuit until 2:30 a.m.

Photo by Rita Rose, courtesy of LakeExpo.com

Most Mardi Gras Pub Crawl venues will have live entertainment. Some will feature live rock, blues and country music, while other locations have DJs and/or karaoke. The restaurants on the festival's bus route are an eclectic mix of food options for guests, including Mexican cuisine, prime rib, seafood, Ozark-style barbeque, Chicago-style pizza and much more. Shuttle riders also will be able to collect Mardi Gras beads and other themed souvenirs along the route.

For overnight accommodations, live entertainment and dining options, please visit the festival's website at LakeAreaPubCrawl.com, or visit FunLake.com. For the latest Lake of the Ozarks Mardi Gras Pub Crawl news, like the event's Facebook page at Facebook.com/LakePubCrawl.