Young Suzuki Fiddler Players performing on stage at the Festival, 1984. Photo: Ann Parks Hawthorne
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Ole Time Fiddler's and Bluegrass Festival
The Ole Time Fiddler's and Bluegrass Festival is a
gathering of families and musicians who come to compete in
traditional old time bluegrass band and individual competitions and
to share music that has been handed down from generation to
generation. It began its long journey in 1924 in the small rural
community of Union Grove, Iredell County, North Carolina, as a
fund-raising venture by local teacher and musician H.P. Van Hoy and
his wife Ada to raise money for school supplies. Van Hoy's Fiddlers
Convention, in which half of the proceeds went to the school, half
as prizes to competing musicians, grew into the most important
family entertainment event of the year, garnering the support of
the community, the school board and staff, and the musicians who
participated. During the late 1920s and 30s, the Convention began
drawing musicians and attendees from a wider area.
The traditional style of old time music was
influenced by the growth of radio, the broadcasting of the Grand
Ole Opry, Renfro Valley Barn Dance, and other such programs. The
advent of Bluegrass, a new style of traditional music developed by
Earl Scruggs and the Monroe Brothers, and the popularity of the Big
Band sound eroded the popularity of old time music, for a time
threatening its extinction. Nevertheless, during the 50s, the
Fiddlers Convention maintained a local following, and began
attracting young people from around the region. Increasing crowds
necessitated the move, in 1969, of the Ole Time Fiddler's &
Bluegrass Festival to the Fiddler's Grove Campground, purchased for
that purpose by Van Hoy's son Harper. The name Fiddlers Convention
was retained by Harper Van Hoy's brother, and he moved that event
to a site on his farm. Harper Van Hoy also moved the date of his
Festival from Easter weekend to Memorial Day in 1973; he instituted
a strict rule for the Festival--no alcohol or drugs--which remains
in effect to this day.
On Memorial Day, 1999, the Fiddler's Grove Festival
celebrated the 75th anniversary of the tradition begun in 1924, the
oldest continuous festival of its type in North America. This
three-day festival is organized to allow each age group to
participate. In the individual competitions, there are junior and
senior categories in fiddle, banjo, guitar and mandolin. (There is
no age requirement in the autoharp, dulcimer, bass fiddle,
harmonica and dobro competitions.) The most coveted award of the
Festival is the "Fiddler of the Festival" in the "Certified Old
Time Fiddler's Category," for fiddlers 55 years of age and older
who play strictly by ear and have no formal training. There are
also "Twin Fiddle" and "Heritage Tune" categories, the latter for
the performance of tunes more than 100 years old. The highlight of
the Festival is the play-off for "Fiddler of the Festival," in
which five fiddle champions, one from each category, vie for the
title.
To ensure that the art of traditional music is
preserved, workshops are conducted at the Festival each year,
taught by experts in their instrument or in their craft:
storytelling, shape-note singing, children's folk music, etc. Since
1970, the Festival music has been recorded each year live on stage,
preserving the heritage of old time music. Tapes from 1970 to 1984
have been donated to the Wilson Library, University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill. At the 75th anniversary celebration, in
1999, a crew from UNC/TV filmed the Festival for a program
Carolina Preserves, to be broadcast in the spring of 2001.
Traditional grass-roots American music is a legacy that will live
on provided there is a place for musicians, family and friends to
come together once a year for a weekend of fellowship and old time
music: that place is Fiddler's Grove.
The Festival is documented with an eight-pages of
text; thirty 8 x 10 black-and-white photographs; letters of
support; flyers, brochures and programs (1970-1999); a newspaper
article; a videotape, "Fiddler's Grove: A Celebration of the Old
Time Music"; two audio cassettes from the 1980 and 1984 festivals;
and a CD, "Ole Time Fiddler's and Bluegrass Festival, 25th
Anniversary."
Originally submitted by: Jesse Helms, Senator.
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The Local Legacies project provides a "snapshot" of American Culture as it was expressed in spring of 2000. Consequently, it is not being updated with new or revised information with the exception of "Related Website" links.
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