Taking a page from its successful “Ozark Mountain Christmas,” the Branson, Missouri area is going to start its 2009 season with a new major event called “Ozark Mountain Spring.” It will be comprised of many different events being held over the period of March 1 to Memorial Day. Click here for Branson Tourism Center’s current schedule of Ozark Mountain Spring events.
Some of the events such as the “Hand-in-Hand Branson Honors Purple Heart Recipients” event on Apr. 24 and 25 and the “Great American Pie Show,” will be new events but, by and large, most of the Ozark Mountain Spring events will be events that have been held during previous years. One of those events is “Kewpiesta” which will be held at the Ramada Inn Conference Center in Branson, April 22 through April 26.
Branson’s “Kewpiesta” is an annual commemoration of the “Kewpie” and its creator Rose O’Neill, which has become an Ozarks tradition since its initial beginning in 1967. It is a combination of Rose O’Neill and Kewpie events that is unmatched anywhere else in the world and includes the exhibition and auction of Kewpie Dolls and Kewpie collectibles, social events, and the annual meeting of the International Rose O’Neill Club.
Prior to creating the “Kewpies” in 1909, ONeill was already a published author, illustrator and an internationally known artist. Her paintings and drawings had been exhibited in Paris France and she had been elected to its Societe’ des Beaux Arts in 1906.
The now famous “Kewpie Doll” started out as comic like illustrations created by O’Neill, at “Bonniebrook,” the O’Neill family homestead, in 1909. They were first published in the 1909 Christmas issue of “The Ladies Home Journal.” The iconic “Kewpie Doll” was patented in 1913, the merchandising of the “Kewpies” in everything from the dolls to wall paper, books, and ice cream molds etc. quickly followed and the rest is history. The theme of this years’ Kewpiesta will be the 100th anniversary of the First Kewpies in Print.
Those coming to Kewpiesta or simply interested in Rose O’Neill or Kewpies might want to plan to visit “Bonniebrook” the O’Neill family homestead and O’Neill’s long time retreat. Bonniebrook is a National Historic Site, located about 10 minutes north of Branson on Highway 65 and features the Kewpie Museum containing hundreds of Kewpies, original O’Neill artworks and documents and artifacts about her life and work.
For more information on Kewpiesta, Bonniebrook, or the many other things to do in while in Branson please contact the Branson Tourism Center on line or by phone at 800-785-1550.
