OxFest started as an annual barbecue organized by Dave Haddox and Kevin Walde in 2014 to memorialize the lives of Daves brothers Doug and Duane Haddox. Doug, the oldest, and Duane the middle brother, died prematurely from complications of diabetes, in 2013 and 2010 respectively.
At the end of each barbecue, Dave and Kevin would sit around a fire and reminisce until the wee hours of the morning. They dreamed of turning OxFest into a benefit music festival, never thinking their campfire talk would turn into a reality. But after the 2016 barbecue, Dave took the Ox by the horns and decided to make it happen.
OxFest benefits a scholarship in Duane Haddoxs name at St. Francis Borgia Regional High School in Washington, MO where Duane had been the athletic director, and Whole Kids Outreach, a nonprofit organization to which Doug was a special friend and a generous benefactor. In 2018, OxFest welcomed the WINGS Educational Foundation as its newest beneficiary.
