The public is invited to experience the sights and sounds of Missouri’s tallgrass prairie during the annual Prairie Jubilee at Prairie State Park near Mindenmines. The free event will include activities from 10 a.m.to 4 p.m. on Sept. 24 at the park.
The day will include family-oriented, fun and educational activities and entertainment. Visitors can participate in a living history loop, which includes an Osage Indian lodge, hunters and trappers, cowboys and teams of horses and wagons, twine making grass basket weaving, a one-tent school and games. There will a bison chip-throwing contest, a concert by Wild Heart, and presentation on falconry. A highlight of the day will be guided tours to view the bison. Several trails throughout the park offer an up close look at the prairie.
The park’s visitor center will offer many interpretive displays about the prairie and hourly showings of a video about the Civil War Battle of Island Mound.
A smoked bison lunch, provided by the Lamar FFA, Cloud’s Meats and Prairie State Park, will be available to purchase. The Liberal Area Civic Group will sell desserts and beverages. Missouri Wildflower Nursery will have native wildflowers available for purchase.
Prairie State Park is located 34 miles north of Joplin near Liberal. All traffic should enter from the north. Take Hwy 43 north to Hwy. K, turn left on Hwy. P, then left on NW 150th Lane and continue to the park entrance. For more information about the event, call the park at 417-843-6711. Missouri State Parks is supported by the one-tenth of one-percent Parks, Soils and Water Sales Tax, which accounts for approximately 75 percent of the budget to repair, improve and maintain state parks and historic sites. Missouri State Parks is a division of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.
For more information on state parks and historic sites, visit http://mostateparks.com.