Preparing for Old Fiddler’s Convention in Galax

BY REX BOWMAN
RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH
Published: August 1, 2008

http://www.oldfiddlersconvention.com

For those who love to pluck a banjo or make a fiddle sing—or sit and listen to someone else do it—early August is the most wonderful time of the year, the time when the Old Fiddler’s Convention gets under way in Galax.

The massive six-day festival and cultural phenomenon begins Monday this year, when tens of thousands will gather at the city’s Felts Park to hear old fellows in overalls and young college students with body piercings play bluegrass and Appalachian mountain music.

More than 2,200 musicians have registered to compete for prizes this year.

The event, both the largest and longest-running fiddler’s convention in the nation, draws music lovers and competitors from hundreds of miles away, turning the little city of Galax (pop. 7,000) into the temporary center of the world of mountain music.

“Bring a lawn chair, there’s plenty of room in the park,“ said Tom Jones, a member of the Moose Lodge that organizes the annual event.

The fiddler’s convention has been held in Galax since 1935, when Moose Lodge No. 733 started it as a fundraising event. Over the years it has grown from a one-day fiddle fest to a musical extravaganza that stretches over six days and features prizes for playing the fiddle, banjo, mandolin, autoharp and guitar, as well as for folk songs, best band and flatfoot dancing.

But the competitions aren’t the big draw for most of the people who show up: they come to pull up a chair in the campground and spend hours playing bluegrass with perfect strangers. Some people have brought their banjos, fiddles and guitars to the campground for decades.

In recent years the event has attracted about 45,000 people. Because the number of registered competitors is up significantly from last year (2,200 compared to about 1,900 in 2007), organizers anticipate larger crowds this year.

Traditionally, Friday night has drawn the biggest crowd, but Jones said Monday night, when young people compete on the fiddle, has dramatically grown in popularity in the past few years.

Jones said the growth of the youth population means the Galax Old Fiddler’s Convention has many good years ahead of it.