For Immediate Release         Media Contact:  Steve Kappler or Marjorie Beenders
July 25, 2008                                                Phone: 573-636-8282 « Email: info@tbwgroup.net

Art & Ambiance Trail Spotlights Art, Culture
at Central Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks

 Lake of the Ozarks, Mo. –Visitors flock to Central Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks for its outstanding boating, fishing and other water activities, as well as first-rate shopping, golfing, dining, family attractions and more.

Now an increasing number of people are discovering the Lake area also offers superb art and ambiance.  In fact, the Lake of the Ozarks’ Art & Ambiance Trail is 95 miles of country roads and highways that wind through both the east and west sides of the Lake area, spotlighting a diverse and vibrant group of artists, galleries, museums, theatres, wineries and unique eateries.

But you don’t have to drive the trail to experience “the good life.”  Simply come to the second annual Art & Ambiance Fair, Aug. 9-10 at Stone Crest Mall on Highway 54 in Osage Beach.  There you’ll find some of the finest artists, artisans, authors, galleries, museums, and culinary experiences the Lake has to offer.  This year’s event runs 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 9 and 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 10.

“Everyone who participates in the Trail contributes to the overall culture of the Lake area,” says Robin Evers, Stone Crest Mall manager.  “Bringing everyone together at the Fair helps present them to the community and to visitors, and that helps everyone as a result.”

The free event will offer more than 30 booths including art in various media, wine tastings from five galleries, book signings, gourmet food and coffees and museum exhibits.  Live music will include Thom Roe on classic guitar on Saturday, Mike Vyrostek on jazz keyboard on Sunday, and Steve Howell on blues guitar both days.  More than 2,000 people attended last year’s first-ever Art & Ambiance Fair, and more are expected this year.

Follow the Map

Throughout the year, however, you can explore the Art & Ambiance Trail by following the detailed map included in the Art & Ambiance Trail brochure, available at no cost throughout the Lake area.  Designed by marketing consultant and Art & Ambiance Festival Chairperson Bob Schwartz, the brochure spotlights the Trail’s 20 galleries, four museums, two wineries and seven locally owned “culinary experiences.”  Also included is a listing of Events & Celebrations, arts-related happenings such as the Art & Ambiance Fair, Autumn Arts Festival, Oma & Noma Days Heritage Festival, Art Expo, Holiday Market and Chocolate Festival. 

“We want to show people that there are other things to do at the Lake,” says Schwartz, who helped develop the Art & Ambiance Trail concept with Lake-area artists Joseph and Rita Orr.  “For years my wife and I tried to bring art awareness to the Lake of the Ozarks area, to reach people coming in to the area, but we always came up against roadblocks,” Joseph Orr says.  “We had gone to numerous communities like Door County, Wis., Carmel and Santa Fe, that had a map of all the art studios in the area.  We thought, why don’t we do this too?  We gave Bob the idea and he ran with it.”

Adds Schwartz, “When Joseph and Rita approached me about developing an arts trail, we sat down and tried to come up with a name.  Then Joe sketched a logo of a sun setting on the Lake with a glass of wine and grapes in the foreground, and I said ‘Art, ambiance, the good life!’”  Orr developed the sketch into the artwork that graces the cover of the Trail brochure.

Once a name was created and a map was located, all that was needed was to locate all the artists, craftsmen, wineries, galleries, restaurants and other participants.  Joseph and Rita Orr contacted their arts connections, which led to other contacts, and the first Art & Ambiance Trail map was published in 2007.

Meet the Artists – and Others

Leading off the Trail is Orr’s Studios in Osage Beach.  Both Orrs are nationally known artists.  Joseph paints stunning landscapes around the Lake area and across the United States.  Rita is a printmaker who creates pulled serigraphs in brilliant colors.  They are frequently on the road with their art, “but when we are home we get at least one call every week from someone who wants to visit the studio,” Orr says.  “That’s directly because of the Art & Ambiance Trail.”

Painter Gary St. Ivany, Camdenton, has seen similar results.  “I am starting to get more calls from people who want to come by the studio when they’re visiting the Lake,” he says.  A painter of bold, contemporary works, St. Ivany says he had heard about the Trail through his involvement with Lake-area arts organizations.  “I suppose over the years I had made a name for myself, because Bob called and asked me to participate.  I was pleased,” he says.  Other painters are represented along the Trail, as well as photographers, a blacksmith, faux-finishers, potters, a coppersmith, and makers of jewelry, candles, stained glass, guitars, hand-made paper, log furniture and more.

Schwartz says “culinary experiences” are included in the Art & Ambiance Trail “because these tea and luncheon places are unique and they also reflect a creative process.  You can take a break and relax and think about some of the things you’ve seen along the Trail.”

One of these distinctive lunch spots is the Small Wood House Restaurant and Gallery Loft at The Landing on Main Street in Osage Beach.  The business offers splendid dining and unique shopping, including quilts, throws, purses and one-of-a-kind home décor items, as well as original artwork by local artists.  Proprietor JoAnn Smallwood also owns the Yankee Peddlers Tea Room in The Landing, featuring tea-oriented and décor items and quilts.  “The Art & Ambiance Trail has had a very positive effect,” Smallwood says.  “I see people carrying around the brochure all the time now.”

Also located in The Landing, the Sugar Loft Cake Shoppe offers imaginative cakes and pastries that truly are edible works of art.  Other taste-tempting eateries include the Omega Coffee Company in Laurie, On the Rise Bakery & Woodfired Bistro in Osage Beach, Little Shop of Hers/Café in Osage Beach and The Shoppe at Shady Gables in Versailles, an authentic Victorian tea room.

The good life is not complete without fine wine, and the two wineries on the Trail certainly understand that.  Dave and Marschall Fansler opened the Grey Bear Vineyards & Winery in Stover in 2005, after owning a winery in Montrose, Colorado for many years.  “One day Bob Schwartz wandered in and asked us to participate in the Art & Ambiance Trail,” says Marschall.  “People come in all the time holding the brochure or they mention that they saw our listing in it.”

Housed in a unique, round open-space structure, Grey Bear offers barrel tastings, winemaker dinners, “glorified appetizers,” gourmet sandwiches and more.  Their popular wines are made primarily with grapes grown at their own or other Missouri vineyards.  The Fanslers’ Black Canyon Ale House Brew Pub & Bistro is set to open next to the winery in late summer.  The Trail’s other winery, Seven Springs Winery in Linn Creek, is set on 160 acres and offers a panoramic view of the scenic Ozarks countryside from its veranda and patio.

Museums & More

The other museums on the Art & Ambiance Trail are Historic Willmore Lodge in Lake Ozark, a 6,500-square-foot, Adirondack-style lodge built in 1930 that houses exhibits and artifacts relating to the construction of the mammoth Bagnell Dam; and the Camden County Museum in Linn Creek, located in the circa-1930 Linn Creek School.

Partnering organizations include the Viper Broadcast Group, Ozark Brush and Palette Club, Lake Arts Council, Lake of the Ozarks Convention & Visitor Bureau, and the Royal Arts Council and Royal Theatre in Versailles.

Built in 1931 as a movie theatre, the Royal presents live concerts, plays and special events throughout the year in its 288-seat auditorium.  “We always feature an art show with every event,” says Cindy Davenport, executive director.  She notes the Art & Ambiance Trail has been “very beneficial for us with its user-friendly map and description.  It’s been great for all the participants.”  The Royal’s 2008-2009 season will kick off with a production of “Hello Dolly” starting Sept. 25 in conjunction with Versailles’ popular Old Tyme Apple Festival.

Beyond the Trail

As a result of the Trail’s budding success, Schwartz has expanded the concept to include Gallery Nights on the third Friday of the month, now through October.  Participating studios and galleries are open 5:00-8:00 p.m. and offer artwork for sale, refreshments and wine tasting.
“We could have a couple thousand people show up on Gallery Night.  The attendance is steadily growing,” Schwartz says.  Adds St. Ivany, “I can tell the difference at the Gallery Nights.  At first it was all the same people, but now new faces are showing up.”

The Art & Ambiance Trail definitely is a success story.  “The public is starting to realize there is a lot more to the Lake of the Ozarks area than boating and shopping malls, which are fantastic, but the arts also are an integral part of the community and a wonderful attraction that could keep visitors in the area another day or two,” Orr says.  “People don’t realize, when you get into a studio and talk to an artist, you gain a whole different appreciation of what goes into the art and how it reflects the area.  It’s a fascinating way to get to know an area.”

Notes Schwartz, “People definitely are picking up the brochure.  The artists tell me more people stop by to see their work and tell them they are following the Trail.”

To find out more about the Art & Ambiance Trail, visit www.artandambiance.com or call 573-348-4053.  And for more information about lodging, dining, shopping, attractions, golf and more at Central Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks, call the Lake of the Ozarks Convention & Visitor Bureau at 800-FUN-LAKE (386-5253) or visit www.funlake.com.

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