View source for Ozark Folk Center

{{short description|Living history state park in Mountain View, Arkansas}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{More citations needed|date=April 2010}}The '''Ozark Folk Center''' is an [[Arkansas]] [[living history]] [[state park]] located in [[Mountain View, Arkansas]], dedicated to preserving and presenting [[Ozark Mountains|Ozark]] cultural heritage and tradition to the public.

== History ==
The [[University of Arkansas]] Cooperative Extension Service, in an early attempt to preserve the vanishing heritage of the [[Ozark Mountains]], assisted local craftsmen and musicians to form the Ozark Foothills Crafts Guild in 1962.  The guild started with 30 members and grew to a membership of over 300 master craftsmen and musicians.

In 1963 the guild, in cooperation with local civic organizations and education advocate [[Bessie Boehm Moore|Bessie Moore]], organized the first Arkansas Folk Festival which attracted approximately 15,000 people.  The festival became an annual event and within a few years was attracting almost 100,000 people to Mountain View.  Because of the success of the annual festival the guild realized that they needed a permanent home.

The guild, in cooperation with local government, obtained a grant from the United States [[Economic Development Administration]] to establish a private commercial craft center at Mountain View.  Prior to its opening in the Spring of 1973,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.lyon.edu/groups/mslibrary/rcol/folkcenter.htm|title= A Brief History of The Ozark Folk Center|publisher= Regional Studies Center, Lyon College|access-date= April 24, 2014}}</ref> the state of Arkansas recognized the potential of the project and folded the center into the [[List of Arkansas state parks|state park system]] and provided additional funding.

The Ozark Folk Center produces the nationally distributed radio show ''Ozark Highlands Radio''.<ref>{{Cite web| title = Ozark Highlands Radio {{!}} Arkansas State Parks| access-date = 2019-03-04| url = https://www.arkansasstateparks.com/ozark-highlands-radio}}</ref>

== Other area points of interest ==
[[File:Nuberscher Ozark Landscape 1920.jpg|thumb|''Ozark Landscape'' by [[Frank Nuderscher]], 1920]]
Many visitors to the Ozark Folk Center also visit [[Blanchard Springs Caverns]], float the [[Buffalo National River]], or enjoy [[trout]] [[fishing]] on the [[White River (Arkansas)|White River]], all of which are located in the Folk Center area.

The town of Mountain View bills itself as the "Folk Music Capital of the World" and local musicians often gather in small groups to play their instruments in the town square after dark during the summer months.  Visitors have always been welcome to attend these impromptu free concerts and often bring their own lawn chairs.  Food and drink are usually available from vendors on the square at these times.

==See also==
* [[List of music museums]]
* [[List of Arkansas state parks]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{Official website|http://www.ozarkfolkcenter.com/ }}

{{Protected Areas of Arkansas}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:1973 establishments in Arkansas]]
[[Category:State parks of Arkansas]]
[[Category:Living museums in Arkansas]]
[[Category:Museums in Stone County, Arkansas]]
[[Category:Protected areas of Stone County, Arkansas]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Mountain View, Arkansas]]