Old Fiddlers Convention
The Falls Church, Virginia News-Press
There was a recent pilgrimage to a city of 6,900 residents in Southwest Virginia that was named for a small, evergreen shrub – Galax, Virginia. Galax was the center of the universe for lovers of traditional music as the 71st annual Old Fiddlers Convention began last Monday.Held by Lodge 733 of the Loyal Order of Moose, the annual event started as a fundraising competition in the high school gym in the spring of 1935. A second convention was planned for the same venue that fall, but so many entered the contest it had to be moved outdoors. It has been held in 18-acre Felt’s Park every year since, except when bad weather forced it indoors and one year during World War II.Originally, a handful of fiddlers from the hills and hollows of the Blue Ridge competed on a Saturday night. This year, there were 1,896 entrants in 13 categories, performing over six days and nights.Situated on U.S. Route 58, known locally as the “ Crooked Road,” Galax became the temporary home of almost 50,000 people last week. They filled the local motels and created a city of tents, campers, cars, and buses behind and around a large yellow tent that surrounds the wide stage. On this stage, homage is paid to America’s musical heritage in the oldest and largest event of its kind in the world.
In front of the stage, spectators watch from rows of lawn chairs. Behind them, others sit under an overhang in rows of concrete benches built into a steep hill. To the left of the stage, those of all ages who get the urge are found flatfoot dancing on plywood sheets.“Richard’s Roadkill Eatery,” “ Nancy’s Fried Pies,” a Pizza Hut tent, and other food vendors can also be found in the park. Interspersed with them are vendors selling CDs, musical instruments, many handmade, memorabilia, and clothes. To supply electricity to them and the campers, a plethora of extension cords going in all directions are found hooked to banks of electric supply boxes.On Monday, the Youth competition, in six categories for those under 15, began at 6:00 p.m. and the 114 performances lasted until almost 2:00 a.m. For the rest of the convention, competitions for each musical category, dance, and folk song begin at 7:00 p.m. each night. On Saturday, an additional performance at 12:00 noon is added for the song and dance competitions. The convention culminates Saturday night with competitions of the bluegrass and old-time bands composed of no more than seven members.One of the highlights of the evening was the appearance of Ronnie Stoneman, who was performing with a bluegrass band. Born as one of 23 children in Galax, she is a member of the Stoneman family,well known in the D.C. area. Famous from her comedic performances on the old Hee Haw television show, she is also a master banjo player. She is one of the few female practitioners of the five finger roll technique. Her band played a bluegrass version of the House of the Rising Son. She then honored her musical mentor, Earl Scruggs, with a fast paced solo performance of Foggy Mountain Breakdown.The evening ended well after midnight as the winners of each competition were named. They shared a total of $20,000 in prizes.You can go to oldfiddlersconvention.com for a list of the winners and information about the Old Fiddlers Convention.