The 24th annual Ozark Ham and Turkey Festival went well with booths for food to suit nearly everyone's tastes, vendors with almost everything imaginable, and activities galore. The early forecasts of inclement weather turned out to be incorrect. There were no weather extremes, with the day ranging from comfortable to a bit warm.
The big day began with the 5K walk run at the Village Green Shopping Center and Kiwanis breakfast at the Commerce Bank drive through lot.
The "Anything Goes" parade started at 9:30 a.m. The Boy Scouts conducted the flag-raising and led the Pledge of Allegiance, the California Kids sang the national anthem and Mayor Norris Gerhart spoke briefly.
Entertainment was performed on the North, South and Barbecue stages as well as in the Finke Theatre throughout the day.
Events of the day took place at Village Green Shopping Center, the downtown California Historic District and the Moniteau County Fairgrounds.
At the Village Green, Mayor Gerhart presented a California Area Chamber of Commerce plaque commemorating its 40 years. Also at the shopping center, in addition to the 5k walk/run, was the Missouri National Guard fitness competition, fire fighters demonstrating their equipment and a fire truck, a live beehive on display at Burgher Haus, a chance to win a pan pizza at Pizza Hut, a drawing entry at H&R Block, a "kids shoot" with soft pellets sponsored by Quail Forever, balloons by Blankenship Insurance, the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile and a cake walk at C&R Market, music by Wyatt and Rex Martensen, the Diaper Derby, the "Andy Griffith Show" squad car reproduction belonging to Dr. Mike Lutz and more.
In the downtown area, in addition to the early morning Kiwanis breakfast, were 72 foot long submarine sandwich sponsored by Cargill built in front of the Moniteau County Courthouse and bingo on the courthouse lawn. The festival goers watched performances on the two outdoor stages and the Finke Theatre stage. The booths offered an indescribable variety of items, including hand crafted pottery items, crafts, t-shirts, purses, scarves, all types of food and beverages. There were also the Children's Barnyard and Kid's Corner.
At the Moniteau County Fairgrounds were the Ham and Turkey Festival Car Show, a display of antique tractors and food which drew people to the fairgrounds.
The big day came to an end with a Compact Figure 8 / Tuff Truck competition at the Main Arena at the fairgrounds hosted by the California Rural Fire Department.