The annual Ozark Market Day activities on the Hermitage Square will be held Saturday, July 1. Sponsor of the annual event is the Hermitage Lions Club. This will be the 46th year for the Market Day activities that were begun by former Lions Club President Maurice Bostwick.
After two years of limited activities because of Covid concerns, 2023 appears to be a return to normal, so the Lions Club is making plans for major expansions to the annual Market Day Activities. Several new events are being planned to add more booth spaces, and attract more spectators and customers.
Expanded activities this year include a pet parade at 1:30 p.m. on the east side of the square coordinated by Scott and Jean Covey, medical checks by Ozark Community Health Center, a Jeep rally coordinated by Sue Ann Ginnings, a side-by-side rally coordinated by Eric Turner and Don Koenig, children’s train ride, as well as inflatables.
Dozens of booths are set up on the square during Market Day to display and sell crafts, collections of garage sale and flea market items, as well as special food booths, and other activities and information booths sponsored by several area organizations, individuals, and groups. Spaces are also available in the parking spaces around the square for sellers needing to operate from trailers or vehicles.
Lions Club organizers say that early booth space reservations are good with 35 booth spaces reserved by mid-May.
The activity attracts several hundred spectators and customers each year. Many of the visitors are holiday tourists who are looking to experience the Lake Pomme de Terre area sports and attractions, and to enjoy the major Fireworks Over the Water display at the dam that evening at dusk. The fireworks are sponsored by the Lake Pomme de Terre Chamber of Commerce.
Anyone interested in reserving a booth space ($35.00 for a 10’x10’ space) for Market Day should contact Lions Club personnel in the gazebo on the square Market Day morning, or pre-register by completing a registration form available around the area, and mailing it to Box 131, Hermitage, Mo. 65668. Booth spaces are offered on a first-come first-served basis. Booths may be set up after 5 p.m. Friday.
Lions Club member Robert Sawyer will sponsor and coordinate the children’s activities again this year with the help of the First Baptist Church’s youth group. Children’s activities usually include turtle races, foot races, as well as bike and trike races.
New this year will be inflatables, a corn hole competition, and a train ride furnished by Cleve Pendergrass of Pittsburg.
Among its community activities around the square, the Lions Club sponsored the building of the gazebo on the square, and provides Christmas lighting displays each year. The club recently purchased and installed new LED lights to replace those hanging around the square.
The club and its Traditions Committee also sponsor the Halloween Town activities, and the annual Hermitage Christmas Parade. The club is also the overall sponsor of the 501c3 group responsible for the Pickering Park complex in eastern Hermitage.
