The 14th Annual Magnolia Festival officially kicks off at noon, Friday, June 4. The enticing aroma of food and the street full of other festivities will entice people of all ages to come see the sights and sound of this year’s festival.

The Festival is free to everyone to attend.

Prior to the opening of the festival at high noon on Friday, there are more music and fun opportunities starting with the carnival opening on Wednesday evening through Saturday. Armband night will be Wednesday evening. In conjunction with the Thursday evening Music on the Square, the Magnolia Festival Annual Belle and Beau will be presented at 7 p.m. Following the presentation, Jason Meadows will light up the stage at 7:30 p.m., so bring lawn chairs to Market Square.

The Art Show will open Friday at 9 a.m. in the Massey Building with food, crafts, and entertainment beginning at noon.

The Choctaw Nation Princess Pageant will be held on the Courthouse lawn at 5 pm.

From 8-10 p.m., the KLBC Magfest Musicfest will be held. Approximately 10 acts, including Grandpa’s Neighbors, Greg Guymon and Jason Meadows will be performing. Pake McEntire will be on stage at 10 p.m., also featuring Stephanie Ann.

On Saturday, June 5, events will be kicking off at 9 a.m. with the children’s parade and all the other festivities.

Market Square is where people can register their hot rod or restored vintage auto from 8 a.m. until noon.

The awards and presentations will be at 1 pm on Market Square. An audio competition will be from 2–6 p.m. ending with the awards, which will also be on Market Square.The Festival will have non-stop entertainment throughout the day on Saturday. The Magnolia Pageant will have two competition shows with two different age groups. The 11 a.m. show is for the children four and under.

The second competition is at 2 p.m. is for ages 5-18. This year the pageant will have a new venue. It will be located in the First Baptist Church.

Saturday evening at 7 p.m., the ANOLI Native American Dance Troupe will perform prior to taking the stage at 8 p.m. The headliner for the event, Karl Shifflet and Big Country will take the stage at 8 p.m. to perform their own style of Classic Country & Bluegrass.

The Texoma Arts Association will be hosting their art show in the Massey Building on Main Street, Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Along with the wonderful art such as paintings, drawings, sculpture, jewelry, woodwork, metalwork, needle art, plus much more, there will also be art demonstrations for each type of art. The antique tent along has added consignments this year for the antique lovers. Stop by and check out the wonderful pieces that are for sale.

On Saturday, the children’s events begin with the parade at 9 a.m. on Main Street followed by awards on the lawn of the First Christian Church. The children’s area will open at 10 a.m. There will be all types of children’s activities including the exciting turtle races at high noon, face painting, watermelon eating contests, plus lots more fun, fun, fun.

Festival T-shirts will be available for $15 at the information booth, which will be located at 3rd and Evergreen.

All these events are free to the public. So come to the 14th Annual Magnolia Festival that kicks off at noon June 4 concluding on Saturday evening, June 5th with Karl Shifflet and Big Country. Come join us for food, fun, entertainment for the entire family in Downtown Durant. Check out the website for the schedule of events, a map of the festival, and other information, www.magnoliafestival.com.