Storytelling takes center stage at the Yellow House Community Arts Center, 209 Trish Knight St. both Friday and Saturday, June 7 and 8. Hosted by storytellers Marideth Sisco and Danette House, this promises to be an exciting event!
The Yellow House Community Arts Center will be open both days from noon till 8PM. They will feature art from local and area artists such as Angela Bullard, Alicia Mau, Samantha Hubler, and Georgia Hester. Pat’s Pots will be for sale – name your price on the wonderful work of one of our most beloved supporters. Also, food will be available while supplies last so chill out with Hanks homemade Chili and cool beverages or hot coffee to recharge.
Friday
12 to 3 PM – Storytelling Circle featuring Marideth Sisco, Danette House, Lin Waterhouse, and others.
5 to 9PM will be an open stage and jam session for all pickers and players hosted by the West Plains Underground – open to everyone – bring and instrument or borrow one and join in and jam.
Saturday
12 to 3PM – Storytelling Circle featuring Marideth Sisco, Danette House, Lin Waterhouse, and others.
3:30 to 6 PM – Paint your own Ozark landscape with featured artist Angela Bullard. Reservations required by June 6th to paint a unique technique one-of-a-kind Ozark landscape with Angela. $35 dollars for the supplies for this 2-1/2 hour experience. Contact Angela Bullard at 773-677-1631 or angelwingschi@yahoo.com, Garett Melby at 417-372-0647, or through the event page on the Yellow House Community Arts Center Facebook page.
Yellow House Storytelling Circle –
If you love listening to Traditional Ozarks stories, the historic Yellow House is the place you need to be during the 30th Annual Ozark Heritage Festival. In the heart of West Plains, a celebration of tradition, culture, and storytelling will take place on Friday and Saturday, June 7-8, from 12:00pm to 3:00 pm. Art will also be displayed, and food and drink will be sold. Two practitioners of Ozark lore, Marideth Sisco and Danette House, will be your hosts. Pull up a chair and escape the heat and bustle of activities in the air-conditioned comfort of the Yellow House, at 209 Trish Knight Street.
Here, you’ll find enchanting and riveting tales of our Ozarks life throughout the generations. West Plains’ acclaimed author and journalist Lin Waterhouse will take the stage on both Friday and Saturday at 12:30 pm. Waterhouse, author of the popular “The West Plains Dance Hall Explosion,” will entertain with her fresh insights on the Ozarks, offering “A Newcomer to the Ozarks” on Friday, and “A Fish-Out-of-Water Records the Ozarks” on Saturday.
Join Sabrina Lewis on Friday at 1:15 to hear the extraordinary account of her Great Uncle Eugene Pattillo, a soldier who fought for four years on the battlefields of World War II under the indomitable General George Patton. Follow this gripping tale of an Ozarks country boy swept into one of the most historic marches of World War II. From the invasion of Sicily to the liberation of Nazi concentration camps, you will be spellbound by this story of the courage, sacrifice, and resilience that a Missouri farm boy showed on the world’s stage.
On Saturday at 1:15, the legendary Marideth Sisco will regale audiences with her firsthand experiences of the 2023 Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the grounds of the National Mall. She will bring to life her tale of “How the Ozarks Came to Be America’s Oldest Mountains.” As always, hearing Marideth spin a tale never disappoints.
But perhaps the most poignant stories of all come from three remarkable women, the Patillo sisters (now in their 80’s) whose childhood memories offer a glimpse into a bygone era. Join them at 2:00 pm each day as they recount their journey taken from Caulfield, Missouri, in 1948 to Grants, New Mexico. They will tell their story of poor Ozarks people trying to earn a living in hard times as their father led a group of 80 sawmillers and their families on a five-month expedition to log timber in the harsh desert.
And in between all these wonderful stories, Danette House will weave her own brand of Ozarks magic, talking about the colorful Ozarks language and humor of the past. All this will be found at the Yellow House. Whether you stay for the entire session or drop in for a spell, you’re sure to leave with your heart full and your soul enriched by the enduring legacy of Ozark heritage.
