Mac and cheese lovers, this one is for you! The Ozarks Area Community Action Corporation (OACAC) is hosting its fifth annual MO Mac & Cheese Fest on January 11, 2025, at the University Plaza Convention Center in Springfield.
The event will have live music, a kids’ fun area, and cheesy, creamy delicious mac and cheese samples from local and regional restaurants and groups. The MO Mac & Cheese Fest opens for VIP guests at 11 AM and to the general public at 11:30 AM. It will end at 2:30 PM. Advance tickets are $20 each, Mac 4 Pack admission is $70, and an exclusive VIP experience is $60. Tickets at the door will be $25, and children 4 and under are always free.
The VIP ticket includes early VIP-only access from 11 AM–11:30 AM, a reserved table from 11 AM–noon, samples served to your table, a 2025 t-shirt, recognition during the event, and a sweet treat. Sales of the VIP experience end on January 10, 2025.
“The MO Mac & Cheese Fest has drawn big crowds from year one. People of all ages come out to sample mac & cheese and have a good time with other fun activities available,” says Lindsey Dumas-Bell, resource development manager for OACAC. “In 2024, we moved to the University Convention Center because we had outgrown our previous location at Relics Event Center. That allowed us to expand with a live band and more mac & cheese samples, as well as other kinds of samples and activities.”
Restaurants and groups will be competing to be named People’s Choice, Judges Choice, and Kids Choice award winners. Some of the kinds of mac and cheese registered in 2025 include BBQ mac & cheese, a mac & cheese waffle, smokey mac, three cheese, raging garlic, and more.
Proceeds for the event will go toward poverty relief in Southwest Missouri.
The tickets can be found here.
All photos courtesy of Ozarks Area Community Action Corporation.
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