Following the Student Art Show is the Ozark Mountain Festival, where the Eminence Area Arts Council pairs with the Eminence Area Chamber of Commerce and local businesses and other organizations to produce a festival promoting the arts, culture, and history of the area with demonstrations, information booths, activities, car shows and drag races as well as great foods and crafts vendors. This event is the first Saturday in May of each year.

Another interesting, yet more long-standing event we offer is the Annual Quilt Show & Sale. The show began in 1968 at the Alley Mill with a few area ladies willing to compare quilts and show them off. Since the arts council began sponsoring the event, we have since moved to the Eminence High School Old Gymnasium and have up to 200 quilts each year on display, some of which are for sale. The event typically occurs on the second weekend in October—the same weekend as the Scenic Riverways Arts & Crafts festival.

The Eminence Area Arts Council was founded in 1989 by a group of residents in Shannon County interested in the arts. With their initial mission statement and activities, the arts council carries on their ideas to present, produce, and promote the arts in south central Missouri, specifically here in the Eminence, Missouri, area.

We currently sponsor regular events and activities. Each year we have the Student Art Show—normally toward the beginning of April—where students from up to 12 area schools submit work and are judged and encouraged to network with other area students. Winners and participants receive recognition for entering the show.

During the Summer we have a Summer Concert Series (the number of concerts depend on funding each year). Concerts often run from mid- to late- June through July and sometimes into August. We have a variety of music genres represented at the concerts. Bluegrass, Gospel, Country, Red Dirt Country, Blues, Jazz, Rock, Southern Rock, and several other genres are what we typically have each year at the performances. The performances occur at the Shannon County Courthouse lawn in Eminence on Main Street.

We also have our writers journal we publish throughout the year which contains local authors, newspaper articles, photography, as well as great bits of historical information.

Click Here to download a free digital issue!