For Immediate Release Media Contact: Pam Jones or Marjorie Beenders
April 30, 2010 Phone: 573-636-8282 « Email: pam@tbwgroup.net
Oma & Noma Days Move to Spring in Celebration of
Yesteryear
at Central Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks
Lake of the Ozarks, Mo. – The fourth annual Oma & Noma Days, the fun, family friendly festival that recalls the era of the opening of Bagnell Dam at the Lake of the Ozarks more than 75 years ago, will move from fall to spring this year. The free event will be held May 15-16, along the Bagnell Dam “Strip” (Business Highway 54) in Lake Ozark. Hours will be 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday.
“When we started out, we wanted an event that would attract families and reflect the history of the area in terms of music, activities and displays,” says event committee member Jeff Van Donsel, owner of the nostalgic giraffe-stone Rockwood Resort & Hotel on Business Highway 54. “We could have called it Heritage Days or something similar. But Oma & Noma Days is really memorable and honors sisters Oma and Noma Degraffenried who were the first two people to drive over Bagnell Dam when it opened on May 31, 1931.”
Several thousand people are expected to attend the festivities throughout the weekend, says Mike Page, owner of Dogpatch, Leatherman and Grandma’s Candy Kitchen on the Strip. “Of course that depends on the weather,” he notes.
A trip back in time, the Bagnell Dam Strip is a mile-long stretch of attractions and shops that have lured tourists to Lake Ozark for generations, featuring skee ball arcades and batting cages, fudge shops, flea markets, diners, gift and souvenir shops, a haunted hotel, and a wide range retailers including the large Dogpatch store. With its built-in nostalgia, it’s no wonder among the most popular events at Oma & Noma Days are the Great Ozarks Outhouse Parade and Race, starting at 11:30 a.m. Saturday from the circa-1932 White House, the oldest building on the Strip. Page explains, groups construct and creatively decorate the racing outhouses. “The rules require the driver must be seated you-know-where,” he says. “I find that youth is important to this race because if you’re not the driver you have to push.”
Other festival highlights will include wacky contests that will be held at Luby’s Stage (behind the big lemon on the Strip), including frog jumping (“Bring your own frog or you can borrow one,” Page says), bubble-gum blowing, pie-eating and peanut-spitting. “You can't have a proper festival without spitting a few peanuts,” notes Page. Back by popular demand will be the Little Mister and Miss Oma & Noma Days competition and the dog show and pageant. New this year, Lake-area resident Kim Willis, the third-ranked checkers player in the world, will take on all challengers in front of the White House.
Throughout Saturday visitors will enjoy live music, from bluegrass to swing to Andrews Sisters-like harmony and ragtime piano. The 1931 Troupe will entertain along the Strip with comedy, re-enactments and story-telling. Antique cars will be displayed and a crafts show and sale will take place up and down the street from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Area shops, attractions and restaurants also will offer specials and merchants will be dressed in period fashions. And of course, Oma and Noma impersonators will stroll the Strip to greet visitors and talk about their historic ride.
From 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, the public will be invited to view historical exhibits at the White House, featuring more than 100 photos of the Lake compiled over 40 years by historian and author Dwight Weaver, who will be available to discuss and sign his fascinating books.
Oma & Noma Days will pick up again on Sunday with the Annual Community Breakfast, free to the public, at 8-10 a.m. “The breakfast always is a wonderful time to sit and visit with residents and out-of-towners,” says Van Donsel. Exhibits and activities will continue until 2 p.m.
Visitors to Oma & Noma Days also will enjoy other activities that will take place in the Bagnell Dam area over the weekend. On Friday evening, the first-of-the-season Hot Summer Nights classic car and motorcycle “cruise in” will start at 5 p.m. on the Strip, featuring hundreds of vehicles from throughout the region. At 9 p.m. an old-fashioned, family friendly drive-in movie will be shown at the newly renovated River Park below the dam. At 1 p.m. Saturday, a Figure 8 Race and Demo Derby will be held at Luby’s stage. At 6 p.m., a military march parade will travel the Strip, ending at a dedication of the “Wall of the Fallen” at River Park. A concert by a Journey tribute band will start at 8 p.m. at River Park; tickets will be $20 per person, $10 for military personnel.
“Oma & Noma Days is very unique and all about nostalgia,” Van Donsel says. “We invite everyone to wear your 1930’s best and come take a stroll back in time with us. And hope for good weather!”
For more information about Oma & Noma Days, as well as lodging, dining, shopping, attractions and events at the Lake of the Ozarks, please contact the Lake of the Ozarks Convention & Visitors Bureau at (800) FUN-LAKE or visit www.funlake.com.
# # #Note to News Media: For your convenience, you may download an electronic version of this article. Simply go to www.funlake.com. At the bottom of the home page, click on “Professional Media” to access this article and other Lake of the Ozarks news.
