Life at the Lake is a Vacation

Just 165 miles from Kansas City and 175 miles from St. Louis, the Ozarks offers more than 1,150 miles of shoreline, charming towns, and tons of annual festivals and activities that residents and visitors look forward to each year.

This summer, trade out your bathing suit (just this one time) for period-appropriate clothing to attend the Oma and Noma Days Festival, May 15-16, with frog-jumping, watermelon-seed spiting and pie-eating contests (www.omanomadays.org). If you’d rather spend your day touring some of the best-looking homes at the lake, get a ticket for the 16th Annual Newcomers/Longtimers Homes Tour on May 15 in Camdenton (573.348.4482) or visit the lake area’s 3rd Annual Master Gardeners Garden Tour on June 5 (573.365.5033). Step out of the gardens and onto the Celebration Cruise Ship for a Waterfront Fireworks Display on May 30 (573.480.3212 to RSVP) or check out 10th Annual Osage River Pow Wow, June 18-20, featuring Native American dancers and drums, food and crafts (573.369.2710).

For more face time on the water, float on down to the 3rd Annual World’s Largest Pontoon Boat Party on June 12 at Captain Ron’s (www.captainronsatthelake.com). AquaPalooza, known to some as the world’s largest water party, is a free event scheduled for July 17. Boaters join forces with Marine Max and Sea Ray for a day of entertainment in Osage Beach (www.aquapalooza.com).

As August rolls around, don’t miss the second-annual Great Bagnell Dam Duck Drop on August 14. Last year 4,211 tickets (one ticket = 1 plastic duck) were purchased then the ducks were taken by helicopter and dropped into the lake. The first three to cross the finish line won — money! For even more excitement, participate in the 2010 Lake of the Ozarks Shoot Out, the annual boat race, August 23-29, benefiting lake-area rescue teams and charities. It’s the largest unsanctioned boat race in the Midwest, with more than 100 racers and 70,000 spectators (www.lakeoftheozarksshootout.org). If you’re still feeling charitable, sign up for the Ellis Fischel Summer Celebration Cancer Gala at the Lodge of Four Seasons on August 28. Another refined afternoon includes the 17th Annual Missouri Wine  Festival on August 7 that will feature some of the best wines in the state, but if you’d rather spend a day admiring art, you’ll enjoy the 4th Annual Art & Ambiance Fair, June 26-27, in Osage Beach. It’s free and open to the public.

Rounding out the Lake of the Ozarks’ season are several fall events: the 4th Annual Lake of the Ozarks Bikefest, September 16-19 (www.lakeoftheozarksbikefest.com), and the 23rd Annual Osage River Mountain Man Rendezvous, September 17-19, featuring authentic costumes, hand-crafted gifts, folk art and artifacts, black powder shoots, and tomahawk- and knife-throwing contests (573.964.1008). End the season off right at the Sweet Corn Festival on September 4 or the 25th Eldon Turkey Festival on September 25.