Where’s the Beans Fest?
The Mountain View Area Chamber of Commerce will host the first, and hopefully only, ‘Where’s the Bean’s Festival’ in the place of our traditional Bean Fest and Championship Outhouse Races, October 23rd and 24th. “While we would have loved to carry on the 38-year-old tradition of our beloved bean cooking competition and Outhouse Races, we felt it extremely important to practice social distancing and to comply with current Arkansas Department of Health standards for events,” said Nikki Morrow, Chamber Director. “I know that this will be a disappointment to some but we are striving to hold an event that will benefit the community, businesses, and visitors alike.”
While the long line of bean kettles will be absent from The Courthouse Square and beans won’t be cooked by our loyal competitors, there will be beans available that weekend. Local restaurants have agreed to cook beans & cornbread and have them available to sample at their establishments. They will also participate in a friendly bean cooking competition. A list of competitors and map of their locations will be provided at the Chamber tent on Peabody Ave.
Scheduled music performances will take place on the courthouse stage on Friday the 23rd from noon until 5 p.m. Opening Ceremony will be at 8:45 AM on Saturday the 24th and music will resume from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. Impromptu groups will appear at all hours on the court square and adjacent lots, and area music theaters offer a variety of family entertainment in the evenings. There will be a special guest concert on the Courthouse Stage from 7:00-9:00 Saturday evening.
The North side of the Court square will feature the Bean Fest Artisans Market on the Square, offering handmade goods from local and regional crafters. The market will be open Friday from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m., and Saturday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The East side of the Court square (Peabody Ave.) and west side of the Court square (Howard Ave.) will feature artists from all over the region. You can find handmade jewelry, wood crafts, apothecary items and much more! Vendors will open on Friday at 11:00 am and Saturday at 9 am. (No set close time for vendors.)
Other fun things to do in Mountain View include shopping with local merchants and crafts vendors, attending music theater shows, and visiting the Ozark Folk Center State Park. The Folk Center will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. for visitors to watch crafts demonstrations.
For more information please contact Nikki Morrow at 870-269-8068.
Cathy Drew is a lifelong resident of the region that she loves to promote. She was born in downtown Batesville in the late ’60s, located in one of the eight counties she now enjoys encouraging people to visit.
Drew became associated with the Ozark Gateway Region in 1990 while working at the ad agency (The Media Market Inc.). The agency handled marketing for the regional association, where she and her co-workers produced an annual tabloid publication. She began working as the Ozark Gateway Region director in June 2000.
After Drew became director, she took the region to the next level by helping the tourism organization create a new website and moved it from the old newspaper paper tabloid publication to a color magazine format. She helped open a visitor center for the Ozark Gateway, allowing visitors to pick up information from the entire state 24/7. Over the years, Drew has helped the organization meet new marketing goals, such as in- and out-of-state marketing, assuring that all 100,000 copies of their magazines are distributed each year.
In 2016, she assisted in creating the first Ozark Gateway Region Golf Classic. The tournament continues to grow each year, allowing the organization to expand its co-op program and helping each county have dedicated promotion. Drew stays busy at Ozark Gateway as the ad sales manager, magazine editor, day-to-day office operations, trade show representative, and magazine distribution representative, all while ensuring that the region is represented all over Arkansas and southern Missouri.
Drew was featured in several local and statewide publications over the years, as well as the 1997 cover of the Ozark Gateway Region tabloid, along with her then 4-year-old son, Jon. She has received several awards, such as the Batesville Rotarian of the Year in 2010 and a three-time Paul Harris Fellow.
She also has served as an Independence County election commissioner for several years. She now serves as their co-election coordinator, helping with behind-the-scenes management of voting equipment, day-to-day election deadlines, and poll worker training.
Drew serves on the Arkansas Travel Council Board of Directors, is Batesville Rotary Club Past President, and is the Rotary Clubs’ current publicity chair.
In March of 2018, Drew was honored with induction into the Arkansas Tourism Hall of Fame for her many years of dedicated service to the tourism industry.