Fiddlers converge on fairgrounds
By COBY LaRUEStaff
Mountain music enthusiasts from across the area converged on the Justice Carlisle Higgins Agricultural Fairgrounds in Sparta last weekend to enjoy a festive convention.
The seventh annual Alleghany County Fiddler's Convention was by all accounts a big success this year.
Musicians competed in numerous categories, including categories for youth and dancers. This was the first year that the convention was run by the Sparta/Alleghany Volunteer Fire Department, which took over for the original committee that established the annual undertaking. In addition, firemen from Glade Creek assisted in parking vehicles at the gate this year as a fundraiser. Some of the money raised will also benefit the fairgrounds.
The total amount raised this year was not available as of presstime because firemen were still sorting receipts and paying out bills.
Warming up — Musicians playing around campsites, often in impromptu jam sessions, is
sometimes more a part of a good convention than the action on the stage. In the
photo above, 'The Pulltail Pickers,' a group consisting of David Sawyer on fiddle,
Karen Cheek on bass, Bobby Cheek on guitar and Linda Cabe on banjo, jam around their
camper. Cabe and Sawyer traveled here from Wilkes County for the convention, while
the Cheeks live on Pulltail Road.
Evelyn Farmer, a fiddling tradition herself, picks the autoharp. Farmer was the first picker ever to register to compete in the Alleghany convention.
