Hootin an Hollarin countdown continues toward 57th celebration on Sept. 21-23
<p class="p1">The countdown to Hootin an Hollarin continues, with participants and committee chairs getting everything ready for the 57th celebration of Gainesville’s signature festival. </p><p class="p1">Here are the latest updates about the Sept. 21-23 event:</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1"><strong>Queen pageant rehearsals begin</strong></p><p class="p1">This afternoon (Wednesday) Ozark County girls competing in the 2017 Hootin an Hollarin queen pageant will have their first rehearsal at 4:30 p.m. Pageant committee members Jerri Sue Crawford and Nancy Walker, along with co-directors Pamela Cramm and Becki Strong, ask that dresses borrowed by previous years’ contestants please be returned as soon as possible. The dresses may be dropped off at any Century Bank branch, at Shelter Insurance in Gainesville or the circuit clerk’s office in the courthouse. Anyone with dressers to return – or those willing to donate Hootin an Hollarin dresses they no longer need – are asked to call Strong at 417-989-9617 or Cramm at 417-838-2804.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1"><strong>Princess pageants sign-up deadline is Sept. 15 </strong></p><p class="p1">Friday, Sept. 15, is the deadline to sign up for the Hootin an Hollarin princess pageants, which begin at 3:30 p.m. Friday during the festival. The categories are Lil Princess, open to first and second graders; Lil Miss, open to third and fourth graders; and Junior Princess, open to fifth and sixth graders. </p><p class="p1">All contestants must pre-register by calling Janette McDaniel at 417-255-3312.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1"><strong>Lil Cedar Pete and Lil Miss Addie Lee</strong></p><p class="p1">Sign-up for the Lil Cedar Pete and Lil Miss Addie Lee contests, which begin at 3 p.m. Friday during the festival, is at the main stage following the Friday-afternoon costume parade and contest. The competitions, sponsored by the Ozark County Chamber of Commerce, are open to boys and girls ages 4 and 5. </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1"><strong>Quilt show</strong></p><p class="p1">Hootin an Hollarin quilt show chairperson Lily Branco urges area quilters to finish up their entries for this year’s contest. Quilts may be checked in from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 20, in the building next door to Ozark Computers on the southwest corner of the square Gainesville. </p><p class="p1">Quilts are welcome if they have not been previously entered in the Hootin an Hollarin quilt show, Branco said. The categories in which entries will be judged are baby quilts; wall hanging, tablecloth or runner; first quilt (adult over 18); embroidery or applique by machine; embroidery or applique by hand; machine pieced and machine quilted; machine pieced and hand quilted; hand pieced and machine quilted; hand pieced and hand quilted; youth age 18 and younger. Special ribbons will be awarded for judges’ choice, best in show, people’s choice and the quilted item that best portrays this year’s theme, “Hills, Hollars and Happy Days.”</p><p class="p1">If space allows, knitted and crocheted items and antique quilts will also be displayed but will not be judged. </p><p class="p1">Quilts entered in the competition may be picked up after 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 23. For more information, contact Branco at 417-679-3163 (lilybranco@hotmail.com). The show is sponsored by the Friendly Neighbors Extension Club.</p>
<p class="p1">An exhibit of the Farmer’s Wife Sampler quilts made this year by members of the Historium Quilt Group will be on display at the Ozark County Historium during Hootin an Hollarin. Shown here with one of the quilts are group members. from left, Barbara Luna, Nancy Thomas and Sandra Stone. The Historium will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. all three days during the festival.</p>
<p class="p1">Cedar Pete, the original logo for Hootin an Hollarin, is shown in this cedar postcard from the collection of Mary Ruth Luna Sparks. The character was developed by the late Ed Petterson, who helped organize the festival in 1961 and suggested its name. Parts of his 1978 obituary are included in this week’s Times Past column, page 6.</p>
