West Virginia’s champion old-time fiddle, bluegrass banjo and mandolin players competed on Saturday, May 23, and old-time banjo, lap dulcimer and flat pick guitar players as well as best liars on Sunday, May 24, during the West Virginia Division of Culture and History’s 33rd annual Vandalia Gathering. A new competition, homemade pound cake and fruit cobbler, also was held on Saturday.
The winners were:
Youth Old-Time Fiddle (age 15 and under)
1st place ($75) - Jerrica Hilbert, St. Albans
2nd place ($50) - Ray Cossin, Mt. Alto
3rd place ($25) - Annie Fowler, Scott Depot
Old-Time Fiddle (age 59 and under)
1st place ($400) - Dan Kessinger, St. Marys
2nd place ($250) - Chance McCoy, Greenville
3rd place ($150) - Greg Bentle, Huntington
4th place ($75) - Jenny Allinder, Culloden
5th place ($50) - Doug Van Gundy, Elkins
Senior Old-Time Fiddle (age 60 and over)
1st place ($400) - Gerry Milnes, Elkins
2nd place ($250) - Lester McCumbers, Nicut
3rd place ($150) - Elmer Rich, Morgantown
4th place ($75) - Junior Spencer, Frankford
5th place ($50) - Donald Jones, Scott Depot
Mandolin (all ages)
1st place ($400) - Robin Kessinger, St. Albans
2nd place ($250) - John Putnam, Looneyville
3rd place ($150) - Brandon Shoping, Williamson
4th place ($75) - Adam Hager, Kenna
5th place ($50) - Luke Shamblin, Elkview
Bluegrass Banjo (all ages)
1st place ($400) - Doug Cossin, Mt. Alto
2nd place ($250) - Ed Price, Huntington
3rd place ($150) - Butch Osborne, Parkersburg
4th place ($75) - Swanagan Ray, Ripley
5th place ($50) - Brandon Shoping, Williamson
Pound Cake (all ages)
1st place ($75) - Ella Hoffman, South Charleston
2nd place ($50) - Tabitha Erwin, Scott Depot
3rd place ($25) - Shonnette Koontz, Charleston
Fruit Cobbler (all ages)
1st place ($75) - Valerie Burgraf, Elkview
2nd place ($50) - Lynna Middleton, Elkview
3rd place ($25) - Blair Chapman, Charleston
Youth (age 15 and under, $25) - Blair Chapman, Charleston
Youth Lap Dulcimer (age 15 and under)
1st place ($75) - Hunter Walker, Beckley
2nd place ($50) - Will Manahan, Elkview
3rd place ($25) - Shalor Gore, Charleston
Lap Dulcimer (all ages)
1st place ($400) - Chance McCoy, Greenville
2nd place ($250) - Hunter Walker, Beckley
3rd place ($150) - Heidi Muller, Charleston
4th place ($75) - Dave Haas, Cross Lanes
5th place ($50) - Bob Webb, Charleston
Old-Time Banjo (59 and under)
1st place ($400) - Chance McCoy, Greenville
2nd place ($250) - Tim Bing, Huntington
3rd place ($150) - Andrew Dunlap, St. Albans
4th place ($75) - Bob Shank, Bruceton Mills
5th place ($50) - Bob Smakula, Elkins
Senior Old-Time Banjo (age 60 and over)
1st place ($400) - Jim Mullins, St. Albans
2nd place ($250) - Ken Sheller, Elkins
3rd place ($150) - Mack Samples, Duck
4th place ($75) - Steve Harrison, St. Albans
5th place ($50) - Eugene Parsons, Orma
Youth Flat Pick Guitar (age 15 and under)
1st place ($75) - Logan Jones, Charleston
2nd place ($50) - Eric Campbell, Hurricane
3rd place ($25) - Andrew Fry, Winfield
Flat Pick Guitar (all ages)
1st place ($400) - Matt Lindsey, Dunbar
2nd place ($250) - Swanagan Ray, Ripley
3rd place ($150) - Dan Kessinger, St. Marys
4th place ($75) - Richard Adkins, Cross Lanes
5th place ($50) - Jamie Rhodes, Culloden
Biggest Liar (1st place $100 and Goldenseal magazine’s Golden Shovel award) - Pete Kosky, Charleston
Bigger Liar (2nd place $75) - Scott Hill, Ghent
Big Liar (3rd place $50) - Alex McLaughlin, Charleston
Youth (age 15 and under, $25) - Ellie Lepp, Charleston
The annual Vandalia Gathering is a free celebration of the traditional arts, music, dance, stories, crafts and foods of West Virginia. The Culture Center and State Capitol Complex grounds play host to this expanding family-style gathering each year on Memorial Day weekend. The unique blending of ethnic and cultural heritage combines an atmosphere as comfortable as a family reunion with the excitement of a state fair.
The statewide folk festival, named for the proposed 14th colony, creates new memories for the thousands of visitors who flock from across the Mountain State and the entire country to celebrate traditions passed from generation to generation. In addition to offering a sampling of West Virginia’s traditional mountain culture by showcasing craftspeople and performers, the Vandalia Gathering pays tribute to the state’s ethnic heritage through a variety of exhibitions and programs.
The Liars Contest regularly draws standing room-only crowds. GOLDENSEAL, the magazine of West Virginia traditional life, hosts the event and publishes the winning stories each year. The lies must be short stories–humorous, dramatic, supernatural, etc.–of two to five minutes in length.
Vandalia Gathering is a program of the West Virginia Division of Culture and History. For more information, call Jacqueline Proctor, deputy commissioner and communications manager for the Division, at (304) 558-0220.
The West Virginia Division of Culture and History, an agency of the West Virginia Department of Education and the Arts, brings together the state’s past, present and future through programs and services in the areas of archives and history, the arts, historic preservation and museums. Its administrative offices are located at the Culture Center in the State Capitol Complex in Charleston, which also houses the state archives and state museum. The Culture Center is West Virginia’s official showcase for the arts. The agency also operates a network of museums and historic sites across the state. For more information about the Division’s programs, visit www.wvculture.org. The Division of Culture and History is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
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