News
Dozens of committee members, volunteers, demonstrators, musicians, vendors and competitors are working today to make the 58th celebration of Hootin an Hollarin another success. This year’s event is focused on the theme “Fun from the Old School.”
Wednesday afternoon brings Lions Club members and...
Come on down to the square around 4 p.m. Saturday, and you might be surprised by the crazy sounds coming from the main stage. Don’t be alarmed. It’s Hootin an Hollarin’s famous calling contests! Enjoy the fun as contestants yip, yell, yelp and (of course!) hoot and hollar to bring home the herd,...
2018 Hootin an Hollarin food: old favorites and a few new vendors to provide eats, treats and sweets
(See page 59 of the Hootin an Hollarin festival guide for a map detailing vendors locations.)
One of the best things about any festival is the food, and Hootin an Hollarin is no exception.
This year's lineup will include main dishes from a variety of different merchants including a new vendor,...
Vendor and booth chairpersons LaVese Ericksen and Barbara Luna say the Hootin an Hollarin committee has had their ears open to suggestions from past festival-goers. In response, this year’s event will include 12 new vendors!
Crafts and handmade items
As always, handmade items and craft booths...
A week after Gainesville’s first Hootin an Hollarin in 1961, the Ozark County Times reported, “Ozark County festival draws largest crowds in years; may become annual event.” That was Nov. 2, 1961, and Hootin an Hollarin has been drawing large crowds to the Gainesville square every fall since then...
The woman known as the “First Lady of Hootin an Hollarin,” Addie Lee Lister, died Aug. 23, 2017, at the age of 100 in Prairie Village, Kansas.
She was born July 4, 1917, in Calvert, Texas, and grew up in Fayetteville, Arkansas. She taught elementary school in Winslow, Arkansas, which was located...
William Walrath, the 2018 Hootin an Hollarin Parade Marshal, has seen a lot of changes since he first started working for the city of Gainesville in July 1975. Reminiscing recently, William, now Gainesville’s maintenance supervisor, said he’s worked for “a bunch of mayors and fill-ins,” including...
Gainesville’s population swells from a few hundred to a few thousand on Saturday afternoon of Hootin an Hollarin as spectators line the streets when the Big Parade steps off at 2 p.m. This year’s lineup promises to be another crowd pleaser, with marching bands, floats, antique cars and all sorts of...
The 2018 Hootin an Hollarin pie contest will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 22, in the Shelter Insurance office on Third Street just west of the square. Area bakers are invited to show off their pie-baking skills, but they’re reminded that only pies that don’t require refrigeration may be...
All different types of pets are welcome in the fun, lighthearted Hootin an Hollarin pet show directed each year by veterinarian Konnie Plumlee. Contestants and their owners are asked to sign up in front of the main stage on the east side of the square between 9:30 and 9:45 a.m. before the show...