Known for the Cargill turkey plant and the family-owned Burger’s Smokehouse, celebrated each September during the Ozark Ham and Turkey Festival, the small central Missouri town of California is also home to an eclectic group of artists and a growing number of specialty shops. In the past few years,...

A Jefferson City native, Jenny Neff has been a constant in the art scene here. She considers herself an all mediums artist who draws inspiration from many sources but finds the motifs of hands and water especially powerful in her work. “While the eyes may be the window to the soul, our hands, especially...

Deanna Dikeman and her husband, John Howe, glide across the floor under the watchful eye of their coach and professional ballroom dancer Larinda McRaven. Even though the couple have been dancing socially and competitively for many years, the fox trot remains a challenging ballroom dance to master. It’s...

Ann Grotjan adds some wood to the stove in her large studio off Missouri 87, just outside of the town of California, and not far from where she lives with her husband, Lloyd, a photographer and musician, and their two daughters on the family farm.  A cool crisp morning, daffodils bloom in the yard outside,...

When you mention the arts, Mary Ann Hall’s name almost always comes up. An artist for almost 50 years, she has worked tirelessly to support and expand the arts in this community. Her most visible effort is founding the Art Bazaar to showcase the work of other fellow artists and crafts people in the area....

Wendy Gladbach – Ana Marie’s Bridal Owner Wendy Gladbach always dreamed of opening her own bridal shop and even though it took many years for it to come to fruition, she couldn’t have picked a better time to open Ana Marie’s Bridal, Inc., the only bridal shop here now that Victoria’s...