Mountain View Spring Bluegrass Festival
When: March 10th, 11th. & 12th
Where: Ozark Highlands Theater at Ozark Folk Center State park
The Mountain View Bluegrass Association announced plans to host its 20th Annual Spring Bluegrass Festival at the Ozark Folk Center Mar. 10th, 11th, and 12th at the state park’s 1,000-seat music venue, the Ozark Highlands Theater.
The event combines some of the biggest names in the bluegrass world with some of the most popular local performers. The festival features a Thursday evening all-gospel traditional bluegrass show and matinee and evening shows on Friday and Saturday.
The line-up for this year’s spring bluegrass festival includes Junior Sisk, Monroe Crossing, The Purple Hulls, Catahoula Drive, Spring Street Bluegrass Band, Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out, The Redmond Keisler Band, and Joe Mullins.
Tickets
Reserved seating is available at the Mountain View Bluegrass Association’s website at MountainViewBluegrass.com where preferred seats may be selected. Tickets on sale now.
Thursday tickets are for an evening show only and are $20 general admission or $25 for premium seating (first five rows). Friday and Saturday tickets are good for all shows that day, from noon until 10 p.m. General admission seats are $25 and premium seating (first five rows) are $35 per seat.
The Skillet Restaurant at the Ozark Folk Center plans to serve its all-you-can-eat buffet throughout the weekend and the state park’s 20-shop Craft Village will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Folk Center also offers modern duplex cabin rooms which include complimentary shuttle service to and from the indoor music theater, Craft Village, and restaurant throughout the weekenTo learn more about The Skillet Restaurant, Ozark Highlands Theater, and Craft Village at the Ozark Folk Center State Park in Mountain View, visit OzarkFolkCenter.com or call 800-264-FOLK or 870-269-3851.
Produced by the Mountain View Bluegrass Association Inc., the three-day festival is a twice-yearly event during the second weekend of March and November. The Mountain View Bluegrass Association is a non-profit organization to benefit the Music Roots program for youth in the Mountain View area.
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 is Batesville Rotary Club Past President, and is the Rotary Clubs’ current membership 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.