Editing Piedmont, Missouri (section)

==Arts and culture==
Piedmont is known for its two nearby drive-in theaters, the Pine Hill Drive-In and the 21 Drive-In near Van Buren.

Piedmont culture flourishes, with the hydrants, murals and windows painted around every corner. The Ozark Heritage festival hosts many local Musicians and Artisans from all around, and The HarmoniChaotic Artist, a local young entrepreneur, paints several new murals in or on local businesses each week, you never know what you'll see in Piedmont.

Since 1977, Piedmont has hosted an Ozark Heritage Fall Festival annually in mid-October, which showcases local Musicians, as well as traditional Ozark culture and handicrafts, and is one of the highest attended in the surrounding region with tens of hundreds flocking for a single October weekend.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.visitpiedmontmo.com/events | title=Piedmont Area Chamber of Commerce &#124; Events }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.waynecojournalbanner.com/event/ozark-heritage-festival/ | title=Ozark Heritage Festival }}</ref>

In August 2023, to mark the 50th anniversary of alleged unidentified flying object (UFO) sightings in Piedmont, the Missouri General Assembly passed SB139 designating Piedmont and Wayne County as the UFO Capitals of Missouri.<ref>{{Cite web | title=State UFO Capitals of Missouri | url=https://www.sos.mo.gov/symbol/ufo#:~:text=Between%20February%20and%20April%201973,outlets%20began%20reporting%20the%20sightings. | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928075640/https://www.sos.mo.gov/symbol/ufo | access-date=2025-03-27 | archive-date=2023-09-28}}</ref>

Between February and April 1973, residents of Piedmont and the surrounding area witnessed unexplained activity in the sky. Several hundred calls were made to local police, sheriffs and newspapers. The incidents made local headlines and eventually national news outlets began reporting the sightings. Today, the city of Piedmont celebrates this designation every April with its annual UFO Festival and space themed decorum wherever you look. Each year brings new permanent installments, such as a UFO park, the giant UFO above The Chow Hall restaurant, a massive Alien Cheers murals from Diamond Jim's Pub, and several psychedelic apocalyptic murals at the local dispensary chain The Grateful Headz.