Ralph Carlson introduces the Friday Night Concert musicians May 2019.
This week’s Friday Night Concert will be presented by Matt Harper of Nevada, Missouri. Harper sings and plays guitar and harmonica, and performs a variety of music including country, folk, jazz, inspirational, blues, and original tunes.
“Performing since the early 1990s, Harper is a musician of excellence and is a jack of all styles,” concert-series organizer Ralph Carlson said. “Harper has a wife and four kids and is a busy guy, so we really appreciate his willingness to return to the park pavilion and entertain our crowd of music lovers. Come out and join your friends for an enjoyable evening.”
The concert begins at 7 p.m. at the Heritage Park Pavilion at First and Main streets. The shows, sponsored by the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce, are free and open to the public. Dave Oas of Parsons serves as sound technician each week. Due to limited seating, attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs.
In the event of inclement weather, the concert will be moved to the Common Ground Coffee Co., 12 E. Wall Street.
Next weekend, two annual sports events will be combined: the Marmaton Massacre with the Tri-Yak-A-Thon and additionally a separate golf disc tournament.
Local businessman and bike enthusiast, Frank Halsey is the organizer of the bike race called the Marmaton Massacre and the kayak-run-bike contest called the Tri-Yak-A-Thon.
The Marmaton Massacre is still seeking participants, according to the Gunn Park Trails Facebook page.
The deadline to register is this Sunday, September 12, at midnight.
Frank Halsey, the event organizer, hugs his grandson following a first-place win in the kids’ race in July 2018.
“The Gunn Park Trail Volunteers (the sponsors of the events)are super excited! It’s going to be a very busy weekend in beautiful Gunn Park,” Halsey said.
“We’ve combined our annual Marmaton Massacre Festival and The annual Tri-Yak-A-Thon into a really fun-packed weekend, September 18th & 19th,” Halsey said. “In addition, Danny Craig is hosting a disc golf tournament on Saturday, the 18th.
“We kick off the activities with the Tri-Yak-A-Thon, at 9 a.m. Saturday,” Halsey said. “This is our 8th year for this charitable fundraiser of running a 5k on the trails, kayaking a 5k on the Marmaton River, and finishing with a 10k ride on the trails.”
Participants may go solo, or as a relay team.
“Solo is for those hard-core athletes, while the relay team is not easy, it’s definitely easier,” he said. “I don’t run any longer, so my daughter, Libby, and I will be a team. Proceeds of the Tri-Yak-A-Thon are donated to proceeds go to Fort Scott Paws and Claws Animal Shelter.”
“At 1 p.m. the Massacre officially starts with the marathon race,” Halsey said. “This is a 3-hour race, where participants complete as many laps as possible on our trails.”
To participate in the events see the Gunn Park Trails Facebook page, registrations must be sent by Sunday, Sept. 12.
The whole community is invited to watch.
“While most of the events are not really spectator-friendly, we’d love to have the locals show up for the Saturday evening festivities,” he said. “These start about 5:30 p.m. with the always fun Kid’s Bike Race. We create an open course, through the park, so not on the trails, for kids 10 years old and under. This is a hoot watching these kids, and everybody cheering.”
At 6:30 p.m. a father and son, Ed and Exander Schilling, St. Joe, MO will give a demonstration on bike skills.
Halsey describes the two as “extremely talented.” “Ed can do things on a bike that most can’t do on their feet, and Exander likes to get big air,” he said.
“Around 7:30 pm we have live music with DJ Brown & The Bourbon County Revival performing until about 9 or 9:30 p.m.,” he said. “They are a local band, that plays a little bit of everything.”
“The Beech Street Eats food truck will be onsite for refreshments,” Halsey said.
“This is a great family atmosphere, and we hope the people of Fort Scott, and the surrounding area, will bring their lawn chairs, kid’s bikes, enjoy the evening in beautiful Gunn Park,” he said.
“We could not do this without our volunteers and our generous sponsors, including:
Ralph Carlson introduces the Friday Night Concert musicians May 2019.
Stephan Moses will be the guest performer at this week’s Friday Night Concert. Moses is a songwriter vocalist and musician who plays guitar, banjo, and mandolin. He will perform a variety of blues and classic country.
“Formerly from Kansas City, Moses began playing music at age ten, so he’s been at this a long time,” concert-series organizer Ralph Carlson said. “Moses has a strong family heritage in music, as his grandfather played banjo, and an uncle played guitar and sang old country and blues songs. Hearing this music as a kid left a strong impression on Moses, so he threw his hat into the ring too. We appreciate him sharing his time and talent and welcome Stephan Moses to the park pavilion. Come out and join us for a great evening of music.“
The concert begins at 7 p.m. at the Heritage Park Pavilion at First and Main streets. The shows, sponsored by the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce, are free and open to the public. Dave Oas of Parsons serves as sound technician each week. Due to limited seating, attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs.
In the event of inclement weather, the concert will be moved to the Common Ground Coffee Co., 12 E. Wall Street.
Ralph Carlson introduces the Friday Night Concert musicians May 2019.
This week’s Friday Night Concert, Sept. 3, will be presented by Rick Hite of Fort Scott. Hite sings and plays guitar and mandolin, and performs a variety of music from the 1940s, 50s, 60s, including contemporary songs in country, bluegrass, and gospel stylings.
“Hite began singing in church as a youngster at age five and has been playing guitar since age nine,” concert-series organizer Ralph Carlson said. “We really appreciate his willingness to return to the park pavilion and entertain our loyal crowd. Come out and join your friends for an enjoyable evening.”
The concert begins at 7 p.m. at the Heritage Park Pavilion at First and Main streets. The shows, sponsored by the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce, are free and open to the public. Dave Oas of Parsons serves as sound technician each week. Due to limited seating, attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs.
In the event of inclement weather, the concert will be moved to the Common Ground Coffee Co., 12 E. Wall Street.
The Boy Scout Pack and Troup 114 and Girl Scout Troup 71650 lead the children’s parade in the Uniontown Old Settlers Picnic festivities in this 2019 photo.
Uniontown’s Old Settlers Weekend is on for Sept. 3-6 after a hiatus of one year because of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
There will be three rodeos, a kids fishing derby, a community church service, and a family game night preceding the day of the annual picnic on Labor Day.
Olson Ranch Wally and Jennifer Olson, Travis and Kellie Duncan pose following a win at the 2019 Old Settlers Ranch Rodeo. Submitted photo.
On Labor Day, vendors will line the town’s square, including food vendors to feed the crowd that usually shows up for the parade at 10 a.m.
The event has been going on in the small town of about 300 people for 115 years.
“The theme for this year is Hats Off For Hometown Pride,” said Shayla Knight, president of the Old Settler’s Picnic Committee, which meets year-round to plan the event
“We have rolled the theme over from last year,” Knight said.
“We are excited to be having Old Settlers Picnic this year.”
“All of our traditional events will be taking place, she said. “Saturday morning is the kid’s fishing derby.”
“Sunday at 10 a.m. is church in the park with Uniontown First Missionary Baptist Church hosting our community. As always donuts and coffee will be available. Sunday evening at 6 p.m. we will be hosting a family game night in the park. Two years ago we started this and for the first time, it went very well. There is something for everyone on family game night! Cornhole, bubble gum contest, watermelon contest.”
There will be concessions available through the UHS Cheerleaders and other organizations and vendors.
The Uniontown High School Class of 1959 wait to board their float for the 2019 Old Settlers Picnic Parade.
“Monday are our traditional events featuring the baby contest, kid parade, parade, drawings, and kids games,” she said.
Alicia Jackson and Alan Shinn were honored as Grand Marshalls in the 2019 Old Settlers Picnic Parade.
“Also this year will be the 2nd annual Dale Jackson Memorial Car Show,” Knight said. “Two years ago there was a great turnout and this year we are hoping for even more. Cars are welcome to participate in the parade if they choose to or just in the car show. Sara Roufs has been solely committed to the car show since day one and has exceeded all expectations. We as a committee appreciate the wonderful addition to the Old Settlers Picnic.”
Uniontown High School Cheerleaders board their float for the 2019 Old Settlers Picnic Parade.
“In addition, we will have bounce houses available for the kids,” she said. “We are still currently looking for volunteers to help man them. All volunteers must be 18 or older. We have a sign-up link on our Facebook page if anyone is willing to volunteer for an hour.”
“Overall we are happy to be able to hold this event this year and look forward to the fun weekend,” Knight said.
Contacts for the events are the fishing derby-Shayla Knight at 224-8493 or Kyle Knight at 224-8436; the rodeos-Wayne Hall 363-4206; vendor and craft registration and the baby contest-Hope Workman at 224-8196; the parade line-up- Becky Shinn at 223-9532, family night games and the children’s parade lineup-Rhonda Dewitt at 215-1939; kids games-Candice Clayton at 224-8945.
Flyers are available at Union Station, Uniontown City Hall, Uniontown Post Office, and HB Salon.
Those helping with the event are Shayla and Kyle Knight, Hope Workman, Tammy Davidson, Rhonda DeWitt, Wayne Hall, First Missionary Baptist Church, Marty DeWitt, the City of Uniontown, Bobby Rich, Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office, and Uniontown Ruritan Club.
Saturday, September 4 through Monday, September 6, 2021, Fort Scott National Historic Site will take you on an exploration of the sights, sounds, and smells behind the Labors creating the “Crack Post on the Frontier”.
Labor Day weekend activities include artillery demonstrations, historic cooking, breadmaking, construction skill demonstrations, and a variety of interpretive programs. Visit with soldiers, laundress, and an officer and his wife and find out if everyone earned a fair day’s wage. All programs are free and open to the public.
Saturday, September 4.
Living History stations are available throughout the day
10:00 am – Guided Fort Tour
11:00 am – Artillery Demonstration
Noon – Historic Construction Demonstration
1:00 pm – Guided Fort Tour
2:00 pm – Artillery Demonstration
3:00 pm- Artillery Demonstration
4:00 pm – Flag Retreat
Sunday, September 5
10:00 am – Guided Fort Tour
11:00 am – Artillery Demonstration
1:00 pm – Guided Fort Tour
2:00 pm – Artillery Demonstration
3:00 pm – Artillery Demonstration
4:00 pm – Flag Retreat
Monday September 6
10:00 am – Guided Fort Tour
11:00 am – Artillery Demonstration
1:00 pm – Guided Fort Tour
2:00 pm – Artillery Demonstration
3:00 pm – Crack Post of the Frontier – Construction Tour of Fort Scott
4:00 pm – Flag Retreat
The National Park Service currently requires that everyone, regardless of vaccination status, wear a mask in all federal buildings and outside when others are present and physical distancing (staying at least six feet apart) cannot be maintained.
Ralph Carlson introduces the Friday Night Concert musicians May 2019.
This week’s Friday Night Concert will be presented by Matt Harper of Nevada, Missouri. Harper sings and plays guitar and harmonica, and performs a variety of music including country, folk, jazz, inspirational, blues, and original tunes.
“Performing since the early 1990s, Harper is a musician of excellence and is a jack of all styles,” concert-series organizer Ralph Carlson said. “Harper has a wife and four kids and is a busy guy, so we really appreciate his willingness to return to the park pavilion and entertain our crowd of music lovers. Come out and join your friends for an enjoyable evening.”
The concert begins at 7 p.m. at the Heritage Park Pavilion at First and Main streets. The shows, sponsored by the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce, are free and open to the public. Dave Oas of Parsons serves as sound technician each week. Due to limited seating, attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs.
In the event of inclement weather, the concert will be moved to the Common Ground Coffee Co., 12 E. Wall Street.
