46th Annual Bluegrass & Old-Time Fiddlers Convention

It's time for the 46th Annual Mount Airy Bluegrass & Old-Time Fiddlers Convention! 

The Old-Time music tradition born in Surry County and the sounds of sweet music will carry throughout the Blue Ridge Mountains from local, national and international musicians at the Annual Mount Airy Old-Time Fiddlers Convention at Veterans Memorial Park in Mount Airy, North Carolina. Always held the first weekend in June, this family friendly event brings together musicians and fans for two full days of competition, jam sessions, dancing, singing, education, and family entertainment . This popular festival, established in 1972, is dedicated to old-time and bluegrass music, as well as dance. The Fiddlers Convention features solo and band competitions whose winners are awarded cash prizes. The Bluegrass & Old-Time Convention takes place rain or shine at the Veterans Memorial Park in Mount Airy, North Carolina. Emcee for this year's event is Lew Bode. Sound System by Brown Communication. Bring a lawn chair and encourage a sunny weekend. The contests will be held outside if weather permits. Be sure to come visit Mount Airy during other times of the year as well. Learn more about

Surry County Music

and take in a show at the

Historic Earle Theatre

in downtown Mount Airy. Also, the

Andy Griffith Museum

is open 7 days a week and the

Surry Arts Council

has events going on throughout the year, so there are plenty of reasons to return! The Mount Airy TDA & Veterans Memorial Park Inc. is providing FREE SHUTTLE SERVICE May 31st-June 3 from Veterans Park to Downtown Mount Airy - Wednesday 12-5 ~ Thursday 9-8 ~ Friday 9-6 ~ Saturday 9-6 The shuttle service will run continuously and will leave Veterans Park just inside the Main Gate with stops at the Visitors Center on Main Street and the Andy Griffith Museum. Enjoy Local Restaurants, Shopping, Visitors Center, Guitar Crawl, Museum of Regional History, Andy Griffith Museum, Old-Time Music Heritage Hall at the Historic Earle Theatre, Movies (Monday and Wednesday 7 pm 336-786-2222), a free jam session at 7pm on Thursday at the Earle & much more. www.visitmayberry.com Camping is available at the park. For further information and to make camping reservations, please call Gary Willard 336.345.7388. You may also call Veterans Park at 336.786.2236 and leave message or contact them by email at [email protected]. The campground is open the whole week before the festival - come early for jamming every night!

Schedule

Friday, June 2nd 7:00 p.m. - All Bands Perform Saturday, June 3rd 9:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. - Folk Song in Grandstand 9:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. - Bluegrass & Old-Time Banjos and Fiddles 2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.   -  Guitar, Mandolin, Dobro, Bass Fiddle, Dulcimer, Autoharp 5:45 p.m. - Youth Dance and Awards 6:00 p.m. - All bands perform Adult dance after the completion of the band competition

Contests

There are two band and twelve individual contests at the Convention, which includes adults and youth competitions. Registration is now online.

Band Contests will be held for:

• Old-Time Band
• Bluegrass Band

Bands must consist of at least three different string instruments, one being a fiddle or a banjo. Separate contests are held for Youth bands in each category.

Individual Contests will be held for:

• Bluegrass fiddle
• Old-time fiddle
• Bluegrass banjo
• Old-time banjo (clawhammer)
• Guitar
• Mandolin
• Bass
• Dobro
• Dulcimer
• Autoharp
• Folk Song
• Dance

Any individual may register with only one band and may enter dance contest, folk song, and one other instrument contest.

For more information, visit the festival website.