Pioneer Days entertainment

The annual Clarksville Pioneer Days festival is set for June 7-9.  The theme for the festival and the parade this year is “Rock n’ Roll”.  Many of the activities from past years are returning, and a few new bands are performing as part of the festival.  For the first time in nearly 30 years, a new carnival will be providing the midway rides.  Steve and Vicki Smith, the owners of Smith Amusements, decided to retire at the end of last season. 
    This year Ozark Amusements, based out of Springfield, Missouri, will have several new rides and games downtown.  Advance discount carnival ride tickets will again be available at various businesses starting Memorial Day weekend. 
    Pioneer Days Committee Chairman Jeff Kolb said “Ozark Amusements came highly recommended by Steve and Vicki, and in fact Ozark Amusements are picking up several of the route dates that Smith Amusements played in past years. We really want to have a clean and safe carnival, and to be blunt, there are fewer and fewer of those touring the Midwest anymore for smaller festivals. The owners of Ozark Amusements are familiar with Clarksville and our event, so they were easy to work with to make this happen.  I truly feel that a carnival adds to the atmosphere of Pioneer Days, and we worked hard to make sure that continues.” 
    The lineup of bands performing at the Firemen’s Stage will feature the return of a couple popular ones from last year, and we are very excited to bring in some new styles of music.  Thursday will feature the return of “Lonesome Road,” a high energy country band sponsored by Butler-Bremer Communications.  They will follow the crowning of Miss Clarksville and the Little Mr. and Miss coronation sponsored by Iowa State Bank. 
 
Read more in the May 10 edition of the STAR.