The Ozark Folk Center

One of the best places to visit in Arkansas is the Ozark Folk Center which is now a state park. It is a place dedicated to the preservation of traditional arts and crafts and Ozark Mountain music. It also has classes at the Center where one can learn how to play a musical instrument such as the Dulcimer or the Fiddle or learn the various arts and crafts such as painting, basket-weaving, doll-making, making pottery, and others. This place shares the story of the Ozark Mountain way of life which bred a rugged, independent, religious, joyful people who survived hardships in the pioneer days by their native wit and wisdom. There are many different exhibits you can visit and also enjoy good bluegrass music.Visitors can see presentations and demonstrations of the Ozark crafts and music, living history enactments and other special events. You get a chance to meet a lot of good people. There is more I can put down about it, but I will not give it away and I will not copy word for word the brochure from the Arkansas Dept. of Parks and Tourism. This is the place you must go if you visit Arkansas. It is not to say that the Clinton Presidential Library is not as important, but really to get to know a little bit about Arkansas' cultural heritage, the Ozark Folk Center near Mountain View is a must-see. Of course, Arkansas is a wonderful place to travel even if you live here. Where is Mountain View? It is south from Mountain Home. It is also south from Calico Rock. It is north from Shirley. It is west from Batesville. It may be less than 100 miles north from Little Rock. It is located in Stone County and it is a dry county, so no alcoholic beverages will be served anywhere; it won't be served at the Skillet Restaurant nearby the Center. If you want to drink, you may need to stay in Mountain Home. I visited this place recently and there is now a lot more to see and do in this park. They add a few more things to this park than the last time I visited it, which must have back in 1997; 10 years ago. The restaurant was added. I don't remember eating at the Skillet Restaurant back then. But, I ate lunch there this time and the food is excellent. It is a good thing. You can now eat lunch in your own time and then, come back to the park and visit more exhibits. Well, I guess I will end this briefing for now. I'll back to write another addition to this dribble.