City of Columbia Missouri

P.O. BOX 6015
COLUMBIA, MO 65205

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 15, 2015

CONTACT: Tammy Miller, 874-7465 or Karen Chandler, 874-6397

38th Annual Heritage Festival & Craft Show This Weekend

(COLUMBIA, MO) -

Listen, learn and see history come alive at the 38th Annual Heritage Festival and Craft Show this weekend (September 19-20)! The festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both days at Nifong Park. Organized by Columbia Parks and Recreation, the Heritage Festival is free and features traditional and roots entertainment, reenactors, artisans and tradesmen dressed in 19th century attire demonstrating their "lost" trades and selling their wares, and a handmade craft show.

Those attending the Heritage Festival this year are encouraged to take advantage of free shuttles, as parking on-site is limited. Shuttle parking will be located at the nearby Gans Creek Recreation Area (3360 E Gans Road). Signs will be posted near the park entrance.

Features of the 2015 Heritage Festival include a Cowboy Camp, Lewis and Clark Outpost, the Town, and a Mountain Man Camp.  Families will be able to try traditional crafts and games in the "Fun For Young'uns" area. Activities include: paper hats, pumpkins and mushrooms (sponsored by Columbia Daily Tribune); rope making; scrap dolls; ball and cup game; stamped bookmarks; candy in the haystack; stilts; face painting; milk the "cow;" hayrides and candle dipping.

Attendees will enjoy live entertainment from a variety of genres including German, Celtic, Blues, Cajun, Folk, Western, Swing, traditional storytellers and returning fest-favorites the Haskell Indian Nations Dancers, Rhineland Wurstjaegers, Ironweed Bluegrass Band and Swampweed Cajun Band, the Boomchux (String Band / Old Time Western / Swing Revival) and the Boone Howlers. New this year: Folk musicians Mark Bilyeu (formerly of Big Smith) and Cindy Woolf, Lem Sheppard (traditional Blues), and the Kansas City Celtic Pipe and Drum Corps. A full schedule of entertainment is on the web site.

The Boone County Historical Society will be welcoming Heritage Festival visitors in several venues in Nifong Park, including 3 historic structures in The Village at Boone Junction and the historic Maplewood House, built in 1877.  The Walters-Boone Museum will also be open and is admission-free.  Families are welcome to tour the 12,000 square foot museum and art gallery.  Hundreds of items are on display and featured exhibits include the history of one-room schools in Boone County and the history of the Horse in Boone County. Blind Boone's 1891 custom-made grand piano and the Missouri Watercolor Society exhibit can be found in the Montminy Art Gallery.

For more information on the Heritage Festival, visit www.GoColumbiaMo.com (search Heritage Festival) or call Columbia Parks and Recreation at 573-874-7460. Volunteers are needed to help make the Festival a success! Please go to https://www.gocolumbiamo.com/Volunteer/.

                                               

The Heritage Festival is coordinated by Columbia Parks and Recreation and sponsored by Boone County Historical Society, Columbia Convention & Visitors Bureau Tourism Development Program, KPLA 101.5, KFRU 1400, the Missouri Arts Council, Missouri Life magazine & Columbia Daily Tribune.



City of Columbia Vision
Columbia is the best place for everyone to live, work, learn and play.

City of Columbia Mission
To serve the public equitably through democratic, transparent and efficient government.

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