Oakley Festival (redirected from Annie Oakley Festival)

Oakley (Annie) Festival

First weekend in August

The legendary markswoman known as Annie Oakley was born Phoebe Ann Moses near Willow Dell, Ohio, on August 13, 1860. Her father died when she was very young, and Annie learned to shoot game for her family with her father's rifle. At the age of 15 she was invited to participate in a shooting match in Cincinnati with Frank Butler, a champion marksman. She won the match and married Butler a year later. Together they toured the country with their shooting act, "Butler and Oakley," and in 1884 they joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. They performed with the show throughout Europe and the United States for 17 years, including a command performance for Queen Victoria during her Jubilee year (1887). Annie and Frank returned to Ohio in the 1920s to be near their family and friends. She died in Greenville on November 3, 1926, and he died 18 days later.
The Annie Oakley Festival in Greenville commemorates "Little Miss Sure Shot" (as she was dubbed by the great Sioux Indian chief, Sitting Bull) with shooting and sports competitions and demonstrations of hide tanning, knife throwing, bead working, and other activities associated with the Old West. There is a tour of Annie Oakley's gravesite and a Miss Annie Oakley Shooting Contest for young girls. A highlight of the festival is the Annie Oakley Days Parade.

CONTACTS:
Darke County Visitors Bureau
537 S. Broadway, Ste. 203
Greenville, OH 45331
800-504-2995 or 937-548-5158; fax: 937-548-2385
www.visitdarkecounty.org

SOURCES:
AmerBkDays-2000, p. 585

Celebration days:
2011: Aug 6; Aug 7
2012: Aug 4; Aug 5
2013: Aug 3; Aug 4
2014: Aug 2; Aug 3
2015: Aug 1; Aug 2