Faithful fiddle fans will gather on the courthouse square in Smithville for the 46th annual Smithville Fiddlers' Jamboree and Crafts Festival on June 30 and July 1. The event will begin at 9 a.m. both days, and the picking will continue until the final competition is decided.
The festival boasts 35 music and dance categories, hand-made crafts, and over a dozen food booths.
Preliminaries in the following groups will be held on June 30:
Old Time Appalachian Folksinging (Solo)
Junior Clogging (ages 13-39)
Junior Buck Dancing (ages 13-39)
Old-Time Appalachian Folksinging (Duet, Trio, Quartet)
Dobro Guitar; Mountain Dulcimer; Hammer Dulcimer
Novelty Event (Spoon Clacking, Jug Blowing, Washboard, Tub, Saws-Appalachian Related Only)
Autoharp, Gospel Singing (Solo)
Country Harmonica; Old Time Banjo
Youth Square Dancing (4 Couples-8 Total Dancers)
Gospel Singing (Duet,Trio, and Quartet)
Mandolin
Old Time Fiddle Band
The top three acts in each division will return that night for the finals, where first, second, and third place prizes will be given.
State Senator Mae Beavers and State Representatives Terri Lynn Weaver and Mark Pody will present a United States flag and a Tennessee State flag on Friday to those who traveled the greatest distances to attend the event. The flags, which have been flown over the state capitol in Nashville, are given to people who have traveled farthest, one from inside the United States, and one for person who came from outside the country. The Smithville Community Chorus is set to perform a set of patriotic songs.
Craft Awards will be given for Best of Show, Best Appalachian Craft, Best Newcomer and Best Craft Display.
Preliminaries for the following categories will be held on Saturday:
Junior Old Time Appalachian Flatfoot dance (ages up to 39)
Senior Old Time Appalachian Flatfoot dance ( ages 40 and over)
Senior Buckdancing (ages 40 and over)
Senior Clogging (ages 40 and over); Bluegrass Banjo
Junior Fiddlers (ages 13-39)
Flat Top Guitar; Contest Fiddle for the Neil Dudney Award
Bluegrass Band; Senior Fiddlers (ages 40 and over)
Square Dancing (4 Couples-8 Total Dancers)
The top three finalists will return on Saturday night to find out who takes first, second, and third place.
The National Championship for Country Musician Beginners will be held Saturday afternoon. Competitions will be held for children up to age twelve in Buck Dancing, Clogging, Dobro Guitar, Mandolin, Five String Banjo, Flat Top Guitar, and Fiddle.
Preliminaries will be held in each category, and the top three finalists will come back to compete for first, second, and third place. One young person will be presented with the Best Overall Instrumental Entertainer Trophy Award, and the top fiddler will win the James G. "Bobo" Driver Memorial Trophy.
Last year, Giri Peters of Nashville repeated as winner of the National Championship for Country Musician Beginners.
The Junior and Senior Fiddling competition winners will cap the festival when they face each other for the Grand Champion Fiddler title and the Berry C. Williams Memorial Trophy on Saturday night. Last year's Grand Champion Fiddler was Ivy Phillips of Chapmansboro, Tennessee.
To learn more visit http://smithvillejamboree.com/
