Beans, Music, and Outhouses

Mountain View, Arkansas calls itself the folk music capital of the world.  This would be hard to dispute after attending a concert at the nearby Ozark Folk Center State Park.  The park has a beautiful large auditorium which echoes with foot-tapping mountain music during the tourist season.  In addition the surrounding grounds have been developed to foster and keep alive all kinds of folk arts which otherwise would gradually disappear.  Artists are given a place to concentrate on their skills while taking on apprentices and educating the visitors.  If you would like to learn about herbs, candle making, weaving, woodworking or other skills, artisans will be happy to show you how it is done.  If you get serious you could sign up for classes to make dulcimers, brooms, or leather goods.  The list is varied.  If it is an old time skill they are into preserving it.

In addition, music groups play in the park throughout the day.  Below 9 year old Mary Parker wows the crowd with her playing and singing skills.

The town of Mountain View, of course, was into folk music long before the Ozark Folk Center existed.  Legend has it that farmers coming to the town market after chores would gather at the town square with the three necessary Ozark instruments - fiddle, banjo, and guitar - and begin jamming.  From these humble beginnings a cultural pride developed in the area for the mountain music being played throughout the Ozarks.  Today it is estimated that up to 3,000 string players routinely drift into town to find a jam session.  The courthouse is ground zero for all this music and random jam sessions can pop up at any time.

To add to the fun, the town has put on a zany Bean Fest on the last Saturday of every October.  Going on it's 34th year, the Festival draws thousands into town and fills up all the hotels and motels.  Over a thousand pounds of pinto beans are cooked in large bean pots by contestants and served and judged at noon.  You can try as many bean recipes as you want (or dare) and follow it up with free cornbread.  At 1 p.m. there is a parade of mobile outhouses down main street, followed by the actual "Championship Outhouse Race" at 1:30.  Mountain music, of course, is never far away.

All set up and waiting for Saturday's crowds

The contestants take their roles seriously - well, sort of!

While the beans cook all morning, the jamming continues.

The Clark Family Trio was a favorite that played early at the courthouse.

Feeding the thousands beans and cornbread.

The bean cooking champion

Grandma was judged to have the best cornbread

After the thousands were fed beans and cornbread, the outhouse races began.

General Pee with the Poops of Hazard was an early favorite

Grandma was a poor loser

Outhouses powered by the football team were the eventual winners.