Jam session outside Founders Hall, Athens College (now Athens State University), late 1970s Photo courtesy Tennessee Valley Old Time Fiddlers Convention
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Tennessee Valley Old Time Fiddlers Convention
The
Tennessee Valley Old Time Fiddlers Convention is known as the
"Granddaddy of Midsouth Fiddlers Conventions" for its role in
reviving the tradition of competition in old time music. It was
born 33 years ago, when a few musicians who were meeting in a rural
Limestone County home decided it was time to bring fiddling out of
the living room and on to the stage. Receiving an enthusiastic
response to two local fiddling contests held as tests, they formed
the Tennessee Valley Old Time Fiddlers Association in 1967 to
organize an annual event. Today, it is estimated that approximately
20,000 people attend the convention from 30 states and several
foreign countries, during its annual October weekend.
The convention brings some 200 contestants and an estimated
20,000 folk music fans to the grounds of historic Athens State
University, where it has been held since 1967. The contestants
compete for prize money in 15 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," whose winner
is declared "Tennessee Valley Old Time Fiddle Champion," and takes
home a trophy and $1000.
Seven of the fifteen members of the Tennessee Valley Old Time
Fiddlers Convention Steering Committee are part of the Athens State
University staff, one is the President of the Athens State
University Foundation, one is the Director of the local Chamber of
Commerce, and six are local residents and area musicians. In
addition to the musical performances, each annual event includes
faculty/staff from the University and local residents who display
their work at an arts and crafts fair. Proceeds from the fiddlers
convention go primarily to the University scholarship fund. To
date, more than $350,000 has been awarded to deserving
students.
The project is documented with five pages of text; a booklet, "A
History of the Tennessee Valley Old Time Fiddlers Convention"; a
list of pictures of Fiddle Champions from 1966 to 1999; ten 8 x 10
black-and-white photographs with descriptions; contest rules;
category winners of the 1980s and 1990s; a brochure; a copy of "The
Athenian," the campus newsletter of Athens State University,
covering the Fiddlers Convention; and a videotape cassette entitled
"October Weekend."
Originally submitted by: Robert E. (Bud) Cramer, Jr., Representative (5th District).
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The Local Legacies project provides a "snapshot" of American Culture as it was expressed in spring of 2000. Consequently, it is not being updated with new or revised information with the exception of "Related Website" links.
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