| 115th Year, 49th Issue | Thursday, July 15, 2004 | Sparta, North Carolina |
The tenth annual Alleghany County Fiddler's Convention is slated for this Friday and Saturday, July 16 and 17 in Sparta.
The convention is an annual gathering of pickers and fans of mountain music at the Alleghany Fairgrounds on U.S. 21 North.
Bluegrass and old time musicians compete for fun and prizes on the fairgrounds stage. Audiences hear a weekend of continuous string music from 5 p.m. Friday until winners are announced Saturday night.
The event is hosted by the Sparta-Alleghany Volunteer Fire Department. Firemen have been working at the fairgrounds all week preparing for the convention. Trever Nichols, head of the convention for the fire department, said a good crowd is expected.
"We've been getting a lot of phone calls, a lot of e-mails," he said. "A lot of people are calling about the junior competition — there's a lot of interest in that."
Separate categories for youngsters (age 16 and under) were added to the convention several years ago and participation has grown steadily every year.
The fire department will make two special presentations, Nichols said. They will honor the memories of two Alleghany musicians who died in recent months.
David Sturgill was one of the fiddler's convention's founding members, an instrument maker and well-known performer of old time music. Bobby Johnson was a bluegrass banjo picker who was a popular entrant at the convention in past years.
Presentations will be made to their families, Nichols said.
Uncle Nave Blevins and the Cranberry Creek Boys and three clogging groups will be among special entertainers.
"We're going to have Uncle Nave kicking it off," Nichols said. Following in the tradition of previous years, the Sparta songwriter and entertainer will open the convention with his band at 5 p.m. Friday. Competition starts at 6 p.m. Friday and continues until all musicians who want to compete that night have played. It will continue Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., followed by dance competition and entertainment. A highlight of the show is the senior band playoffs on Saturday night.
Starting at 7:30 p.m., the best 15 bluegrass bands and best 15 old time bands, as judged in earlier competition, will return to the stage for championship playoffs.
Vendor spaces will be filled with a variety of food and other items of interest, Nichols said.
"People are already wanting to camp," he added in an interview last
week.
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