Visit Athens Alabama
  • Home
  • Calendar & Events
  • Plan Your Visit
  • Lodging
  • Restaurants

Old Time Fiddlers Convention

9/24/2016

0 Comments

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association
PHONE: 256.350.3500 / 800.648.5381
EMAIL: [email protected]
50 Years of Fiddling Fun

Set for October 6-8, 2016, the Tennessee Valley Old Time Fiddlers Convention returns to the campus of Athens State University, located in Athens, Ala. Also known as “Granddaddy of Midsouth Fiddlers Conventions,” the Tennessee Valley Old Time Fiddlers Convention celebrates its 50th anniversary of honoring traditional old-time music and along with the selecting a new Tennessee Valley Old Time Fiddle Champion, this year’s event includes special performances by bluegrass band Bobby Osborne and Rocky Top X-Press, American Western music and comedy group Riders in the Sky and Americana and folk musicians Norman Blake, Nancy Blake and James Bryan.
​
Along with 15,000 visitors, the two-day event attracts more than 200 musicians who will be vying for over $18,000 in prize money in 18 different categories, including several fiddle and guitar categories, harmonica, mandolin, bluegrass banjo, dulcimer, old time singing, banjo, and buck dancing. The Convention culminates in a "fiddle-off," between the top two fiddlers. The winning fiddler is declared "Tennessee Valley Old Time Fiddle Champion," and takes home a trophy and a $1,200 cash prize. Competition gets underway Friday at 7 p.m. and resumes Saturday at 8:30 a.m.

A special 50th anniversary concert featuring Bobby Osborne and Rocky Top X-Press (www.bobbyosborne.com) is planned for Thursday, October 6 at 7 p.m. in McCandless Hall. Admission is free and seating is limited. Friday night’s special guest performer on the Alabama Farmers Cooperative Stage is Riders in the Sky (www.ridersinthesky.com). Show times are at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. On Saturday at 5 p.m., entertainment is provided by Norman Blake, Nancy Blake and James Bryan.

The convention also includes a variety of food vendors and approximately 150 old-fashioned arts and crafts booths offering an assortment of items from traditional artwork to coal-fired metal works.
​
Admission is $15 on Friday and $15 on Saturday or $20 for both days. Children under 12 years old are admitted free with a parent. Gates open at 8 a.m. on Friday and at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday. Competitions are held on the steps of Founders Hall on the Alabama Farmers Cooperative Main Stage and the Brown Hall Stage. Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs. In event of rain, it will be held in the gymnasium with limited capacity. Pets and coolers are not allowed. For more information, visit www.athens.edu/fiddlers or call Terry Stepp at 256.233.8241.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    February 2024
    November 2023
    October 2023
    August 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    November 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016


​Board of Directors
Privacy Statement
​Athens City Links
​Limestone County Links
Alabama200.org
​North Alabama Travel and Tourism
​Alabama Tourism Department


Contact Us
Copyright © 2016-2024
​Athens-Limestone County
Tourism Association
​100 N. Beaty Street
Athens, Alabama 35611
(256) 232-5411


Photos from U.S. Embassy New Delhi, tompagenet, Alessandro Giangiulio, tobias_hanf, wuestenigel, jamingray, MyFWCmedia
  • Home
  • Calendar & Events
  • Plan Your Visit
  • Lodging
  • Restaurants