Although most of the Ozarks were settled by English speaking folks from the Smoky Mt. Region who moved west, pockets of Missouri's Ozarks were settled by Germans and the French. There is a community in Northwest Arkansas settled by Italians. Would you like to see some of this ethnic heritage spotlighted and preserved at SDC? What about some of the French Christmas or German Christmas traditions implemented into the Christmas Festival? What about restaurants on park offering German or French or Italian dishes? What about a Beer Garden? What about wine making demonstrations and a wine cellar? Chime in...your thoughts?
Great ideas, Junior. WorldFest would be another great place for an ethnic Ozark infusion. They could use food, dance, and music to spotlight communities like:
- Italians in Tontitown, AR
- Marshall Islanders (http://boingboing.net/2009/06/18/the-marshallese-in-a.html) in Springdale
- Indian tribes in the Oklahoma Ozarks
- French around Ste. Genevieve
- African-Americans in Springfield and other towns -- imagine a fine gospel choir rocking the Wilderness Church!
- Vietnamese around Fort Smith and Carthage
- Jewish families in Springfield and Bentonville
- Hispanics in northwest AR and elsewhere
- Eastern Europeans in my hometown of Mountain Home
- Germans all over the place -- wouldn't the Lumbercamp make a great springtime biergarten?
SDC has taken a step in this direction already: Mary's Springhouse (http://www.bransonsilverdollarcity.com/food-restaurants/detail.aspx?AttractionID=133) has an Italian-immigrant backstory. It coincidentally shares part of its name with Mary Maestri's, the legendary Italian restaurant in Tontitown.
Are there other ethnic enclaves in the Ozarks?
Becca's Weaving touches on Jewish traditions.
I would like to see it so long as the traditions, and heritage of these cultures are represented through the 1880's lifestyle (i.e. no microwavable German sausage demonstrations please :P)