Since 1973 Independence, MO has celebrated it’s history as the starting point of the Santa Fe, California, and Oregon trails by transforming its downtown into a giant street party that lasts the entire Labor Day weekend. It has everything a festival should:
Arts and Crafts. Giant tents take up whole city blocks filled with booth after booth of the tacky (Mizzou Tiger toilet seats, spray-painted pink cowgirl hats) to real art like ceramics and photography. It’s best to tour them early in the morning before the heat sets in and the aisles get gridlocked with strollers and impromptu family reunions.
FREE Concerts and Entertainment. There are three stages: the main stage has country and western music every night with a lot of tribute bands and at least one performer you may have heard of (this year it’s Marty Stuart). There’s a gospel stage (free ice water and pamphlets near) and the community stage which hosts hour after hour of dance school performances in the daytime. After the sun goes down the square dancers show up with their caller sporting his turntable and stack of 45’s. The crowd is invited to join in–novices can do-si-do with the pros! Did I mention it was free?
Fabulous Fried Food. You can dine for entire day and never leave Lexington Street. Breakfast can be a funnel cake at Lexington and Osage. Not even a block west is a booth selling fried potatoes, sausage, and onions. Lunch is back east a block to the Opti-dog booth. This is the best food value of the weekend–for $2.00 a hotdog-hatted Optimist will serve you a giant dog and let you pick your shade of char right off the grill. For dinner the corner of Lexington and Main offers Jambalaya, huge Cajun sausages, or a rib eye sandwich. Dessert is back to the fried potato booth where they also serve deep fried Snickers and Twinkies. Kettle Korn, corndogs, and bloomin’ onions are no more than a block in any direction.
Civic Silliness. The festival officials usually dress up as gunslingers and saloon gals, but for some reason this year on Monday they are donning tropical outfits and hosting a Jimmy Buffett tribute band. Local sports mascots are going to show up and try to earn a place in the Guinness Book of World Records by leading an attempt at the world’s largest Macarena. Nothing conjures up the old-time pioneer days like a mass Macarena!
There are actual historic sites to tour: the Harry Truman Home, the 1859 Jail Museum which once held Frank James, the National Frontier Trails Museum, and the Bingham-Waggoner Estate are all within walking distance of the Independence Square. There’s also a carnival that opens Thursday night.
There’s something for everyone here so y’all come on down and join the Macarena!