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Event/Site: Mount Airy Bluegrass &
Old-Time Fiddlers Convention
Date: First full weekend in June.
Friday evening gates open 7:00pm—until
late evening.
Saturday gates open 9:30am—until late
evening.
Type: Nationally- and internationally-known annual competition
for bands and individuals in old-time stringband
and bluegrass categories.
Location:
Historic Downtown Mount Airy. Directions to the Mount Airy Visitor Center, 200 N. Main Street, are on the first web site listed below.
Cost: Friday $5, Saturday $6, Two days $10
Contestants ticket $15
Preschoolers admitted free.
Camping on grounds $10; camping with hook-up
$15.
Parking:Free for cars.
34 full trailer hook-ups (first-come, first served—folks
arrive early in week or previous weekend to get a good spot!).
Special Needs Access: Yes.
Signage:
Sign at location, not
en route.
Sponsor: Mt. Airy American Legion and the local VFW.
Web
Site: www.mtairyfiddlersconvention.com
Contact:
Mt. Airy Chamber of Commerce,
Tourism Dept
PO Box 913
220 N. Main St.
Mount Airy, NC
27030
(336) 786-6116
(800) 948-0949
tourism@visitmayberry.com
Carl
Whitaker
(336)
786-2236
(336)
352-4517
Description of Event: Along
with the annual fiddlers convention in Galax, Va., the
Mount Airy Fiddlers’ Convention is considered one of the premier
events of its type in the country.
Thousands of musicians and listeners flock to this event each
year from near and far, which many view as a kind of annual home-coming
or reunion. Contestants perform from a single stage, while the audience
watches from lawn chairs and a limited amount of public seating. Audience members can dance on a
platform near the stage.
Performances are broadcast live on WPAQ 740AM.
Contestants compete
in various categories, including old-time and bluegrass band, old-time
and bluegrass banjo, fiddle, guitar, mandolin, dobro,
dulcimer, autoharp, folksong, and dance. Prize money is awarded, along with
ribbons and trophies. Numerous
impromptu jam sessions take place day and night around the campground.
Over a thousand
campers and RVs show up each year, and owners arrive as early in the
week as possible to claim a favorite parking spot.
History of Site/Event: The convention was originated in 1971 by G.F.
Collins, a member of the legendary Camp
Creek Boys, a group considered particularly influential in sparking
the national interest in Blue Ridge
music during the folk revival of the 1960s and 70s. Sponsored by the American Legion and
the VFW, as it is today, the convention began as a small local
event. As interest in old-time stringband music grew outside the region, more and
more visitors came to the annual music convention to learn from the Surry County music masters they had
heard about and revered— musicians such as Tommy
Jarrell, Fred Cockerham, Earnest East, Benton
Flippen, Kyle Creed, Verlen
Clifton, and Paul Sutphin. Willing and able to share what they
knew with younger musicians traveling to the area to learn from them,
these local Surry County pickers were developing national and worldwide
followings among old-time stringband
fans.
Description of Site/Facility: The Mount
Airy Veterans
Memorial Park is
a grassy, ten acre field surrounded by woods on three sides. There’s plenty of room for the
stage and audience area, camping, and parking for thousands of
cars. The park has restrooms,
picnic shelters, and concession stands to accommodate overnighters, as
well as day-trippers.
Significance of Site/Event to the Community: The event is a source of pride for the
area. Repeat participants and
listeners view it as a homecoming, while newcomers feel welcomed, hear
traditional stringband music at its finest,
and experience the Blue Ridge music
festival “scene”.
Reference Source: Jack Jones; Blue Ridge Music Trails by Fred C. Fussell;
Blue Ridge Music Trails Music
Inventory for North Carolina by Sally Council.
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