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‘Old-time hootenanny’ at Stone County Courthouse scheduled for Saturday

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An “old-time hootenanny” will be held Saturday, March 25, from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Courtroom of the Stone County Courthouse in Mountain View.

Around 60 musicians are expected to perform in the style of the old-time hootenanny, with organized groups scheduled to play sessions about every 15 to 20 minutes.

It will include a tribute to Jimmy Driftwood and to many of the original performers, including Tommy Simmons, who will be reflecting on those first Friday night musicals.

This informal gathering with folk music and dancing will be in celebration of the venue that led to the creation of the Arkansas Folk Festival 60 years ago and the Ozark Folk Center that is celebrating its first 50 years, their Jubilee, this year, a release promoting the hootenanny said.

These “practice sessions” began in March 1963 in preparation for the music and crafts show planned for April 19 and 20 of that year.

The sessions, sponsored by the Rackensack Folklore Society, became a Friday night tradition in the courtroom well into the `70s. There was no pay for performing, no charge for admission, and no electronic devices except for the microphone. It was simply a desire of people to play and listen to good old mountain music, the release said.

Once the outdoor stage was constructed for that first festival, the music mainly moved outside, only to return upstairs to the courtroom in cold weather.

This event has been organized by Junior Fulks, Lynda Lawson Swafford, and Pam Simmons Setser (pictured below), all early participants in those Friday night musicals. It is a Sesquicentennial Event sponsored by the Stone County Historical Society.

There is no charge for admission, but donations will be accepted to benefit the local Stone County Museum.

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