1999 Big Muddy Folk Festival, Boonville, Missouri

April 9-10, 1999

Winter had been a more congenial guest in Boonville the past couple of years until now. It was tardy in arrival, but its visit has been boisterous and robust. Ice flows cluttered the brown waters of the Missouri. Thick snow covered lawn and shrub, muffling the chatter of town; plowed snow piled high on corners and curbs. The north blew a cold wind determined to keep a person inside content with his discretion. The yews show the brown tint of the cold time. No peepers are peeping; the croak of a frog would freeze in mid-air. We bide our time, tidying the cabin, or trudging outside, hunkered inwardly to harbor our warmth; we wait for some southern breath to ease winter's grasp. And when those winds take a stronger hold and blow by Thespian Hall, can the Big Muddy Folk Festival be far behind?

This year, for our eighth festival, artists will ride the four winds to Boonville and bring us a wonderful variety of musical traditions and creativity. We'll hear songs from the coast of Maine, where folks would chuckle at a Missouri winter, bluegrass from the shores of Lake Michigan, blues from the Rocky Mountains and the Mississippi bluffs at Memphis. We'll celebrate Missouri culture in fiddle, foot, voice and soul.

Despite a new tin roof, the bats have found their way back into historic Thespian Hall, and so should you -- but through the front door. The intimate yet elegant stage nurtures a good show from both artist and audience. The party continues across Vine Street at historic Turner Hall with dancing, workshops, open stage, food and drink. The weather inside should be great.

Funding assistance from
the Missouri Arts Council