17-05-2025
Sucker days in Nixa: Crafts and community connections
NIXA, Mo. — It's that time of the year again.
Nixa's annual Sucker Days begins tonight until 10:30 and then open from 9 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. on Saturday.
The yearly event is held in May in the heart of Nixa, with displays of crafts, art, music, and community.
OzarksFirst went to Main Street in Nixa, where event planners and vendors were still setting up this morning.
Jim Ed Burks, owner of Hillbilly Kettle Corn out of Mountain View, Missouri, says he's been part of the event for the last half decade.
'It's a pretty good show,' Burks said.
Burks not only makes and sells kettle corn, but also pork rinds, but it's how he got into this business that had nothing to do with craft fairs.
'My daughter went to a small school,' Burks said. 'The administrators wanted to do a carnival and I had to find vendors.'
Burks said he found one kettle corn vendor, but when it was clear it wasn't going to work, that's when he said he took initiative.
'I got frustrated and I got all of this, and that's how it all started,' Burks said.
Down Main Street, Christopher Kinney, owner of Clay Beard Studios, is setting up for the weekend.
'All [these items are] handmade by me. It's microwave, oven, dishwasher, safe, very functional items, mostly mugs and bowls, that sort of thing,' Kinney said.
Kinney lives in Galena, but making the drive was a no brainer to be part of the event again.
'It's a fun event. It's been going for a long time and it's always a lot of fun,' Kinney said. 'There's a lot of people coming in, I see a lot of people from my other shows in Southwest Missouri, so they come and see us here as well, repeat customers, and it's good to see everybody.'
According to a social media post from event organizers, there is no price to enter sucker days for either Friday night or Saturday.
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