Mokane prepares for Fall Festival

Mary Bass, right, and Strauss, of Fountain City Amusements, swap out lights on a carnival ride Thursday, Aug. 31, 2017 in Mokane in advance of the Mokane Lions Club Fall Festival.
Mary Bass, right, and Strauss, of Fountain City Amusements, swap out lights on a carnival ride Thursday, Aug. 31, 2017 in Mokane in advance of the Mokane Lions Club Fall Festival.

Its official name is the Mokane Lions Fall Festival, although most call it the Mokane World's Fair. The annual event, now in its 69th year, is set to start Aug. 31 with three days of hot food, live entertainment, carnival rides and competitions.

The festival will start at 6 p.m. with the beginning of softball and end at 10 p.m. Sept. 2. There is no fee to get in; but armbands to use the carnival rides, running 6-10 p.m. every day and 1-5 p.m. Saturday, will be sold for $20.

The nickname started as a joke early in the festival's history by a "very influential radio DJ," Ron Lutz, and has stuck around since, Mokane Lions Club Treasurer Brian Rogers said.

"He'd say, 'Come on down to the World's Fair; You know where that's at - Mokane!'" Rogers said. "And of course that was the big 'Ha ha,' and it kind of stuck."

Although it might not draw people from around the world, Rogers said many in the area and even a few from around the country come.

"You know if you haven't seen anybody all summer, you go (to the festival) and chances are you're going to see them," he added. "It's been going on so long that people just know you're going to be there."

Food sold at the festival will be beef, hot dogs, homemade pies and mutton.

Mutton, which is similar to pulled pork but made from sheep, is what Mokane is most known for, Rogers said, declaring it the best in the area - despite neighboring town Tebbetts making the same claim at its annual community picnic.

Live music at the festival will include country bands Clay Creek Band, 7 p.m. Friday; Crows Fork Band, 7 p.m. Saturday; and Silver Wings Band, 5 p.m. Sunday. A DJ will play 1:30-5:30 p.m. Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday.

Other live entertainment will include clogging performances at 5:30 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. The parade will start at 11 a.m. Saturday, followed by a performance by the South Callaway High School band.

Track competitions planned at the festival are a compact derby, 7 p.m. Friday; a modified tractor pull, 7 p.m. Saturday; and an antique/local truck and tractor pull, 7 p.m. Sunday.

Other competitions scheduled include softball, a children's tractor pull, a washers tournament and a fiddlers contest. Registration for softball is available by calling Darren Humphrey at 573-220-3160. People can register for other non-track competitions during the festival.

The event is the primary fundraiser for the Mokane Lions Club, Rogers said, raising approximately $45,000 last year. Other Lions Clubs are usually surprised to hear that total, but it comes after a lot of hard work, he added.

"We don't do too many things other than this," Rogers said. "We call it three days of living hell. I'll get down there at (8 a.m.), and I may not leave until 2 a.m. That's just the way it is."

Rogers said the Mokane Lions Club uses the money raised by the festival for a number of projects, including helping local residents pay for eyeglasses and sending money to families after a house fire. Some will be saved to pay for the next fair, he added, which costs the organization $4,000-$5,000 annually.