The Prairie Grove Lions Club started the Clothesline Fair in 1951, contracting the arts and crafts portion of the community event out to the former Council of Ozark Artists and Crafts.
The arts and crafts idea originated from trips by Fred and Madge McCuistion to visit local arts festivals in the Appalachians. They wanted to promote native and local artists and craftsman and moved their crafts fair around northwest Arkansas for a few years before finding a permanent home in Prairie Grove.
The mission of the Council of Ozark Artists and Crafts was to promote local artists and handmade crafts so they would continue in the present and into the future. The Fair moved to Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park at the encouragement of Fred McCuistion.
The Battlefield State Park already held a Labor Day celebration of Confederate soldiers and their survivors so it seemed only natural for the Clothesline Fair to also occupy the same weekend.
Through the efforts of the Lions Club, Fred and Marge and countless others in Prairie Grove, the Fair was successful even in its earliest days in Prairie Grove.
The Council of Ozark Artists and Craftsman lasted until the mid 1970s until it merged with the former Springdale Fine Arts Center and the name was changed to Arts Center of the Ozarks to reflect both organizations.
Square dancing is as much a part of the Clothesline Fair as the arts and crafts booths. Square dancing has been going on since around 1958. Most people credit Peggy Parks of Prairie Grove with starting the square dancing tradition, though she won't take all the credit.
Parks was a fourth-grade teacher in Prairie Grove and remembers watching a high school group do the Virginia Reel folk dance. That gave her the idea her own students could do the same. She taught her fourth graders how to folk dance and they probably were the first group to perform at the Clothesline Fair in 1958.
Over the years, the Fair has added square dance exhibitions and competitions for children.
The Prairie Grove Lions Club handles all concessions at the Clothesline Fair and uses its proceeds to help others, especially those with vision needs.
Today, the Prairie Grove Lions Club, state park and Arts Center of the Ozarks join together to sponsor the annual Clothesline Fair. The fair brings in thousands of people to Prairie Grove over Labor Day weekend and the event has grown into a source of revenue for many non-profit organizations in the community.
(Some of this history courtesy Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park and Arts Center of the Ozarks)
General News on 08/27/2014