Drawing from his interactions, insights, and hundreds of hours of recordings he has made, Gordon McCann details changes in Ozark culture as he recounts the personal stories of Ozark people and places. They compare and comment on about the dance's development from contacts with early Irish immigrants and early American slave culture, an often eclipsed but major development effecting many African American dance forms. Dancers do precision dance routines, lead a discussion, and dramatically unfold movement by movement a story of cultural contact and artistic borrowing. Richard Martin, Helen Gannon and friends. A full day-long festival can be planned to show the impressive sweep of Missouri's living traditional arts and the cultural legacy of particular regions.
Festivals can include performances, workshops, craft demonstrations, and commentary.
Interpretation by staff and program booklets convey the cultural meaning and background of each traditional art form. Single, extended stage programs with multiple artists and groups provide a condensed format of the above. Both formats allow a sampling of Missouri's impressive array of folk art forms and a chance for audiences to meet the artists. Appreciating art as process and the inseparability of artist and art work comes from watching an artist at work. In demonstrations artists can discuss use of tools, materials, learning process, and history of an art form as they show their skills.