Aug. 11, 2011
The 22nd Appalachian String Band Music Festival at Camp Washington-Carver in Clifftop, Fayette County, wrapped up Sunday, Aug. 7. During the event, some of the nation’s finest string band musicians and old-time dancers won prizes in four traditional contests — fiddle, banjo, string band and flat-foot dance — plus one neo-traditional string band contest. Ribbons for best original song and best original tune were awarded in the neo-traditional band category.
More than 2,800 people attended the five-day including visitors from 45 states as well as folks from Australia, Canada, Denmark, England, France, New Zealand and Sweden. Next year’s festival will be held Aug. 1 - 5, 2012. Camp Washington-Carver is operated by the West Virginia Division of Culture and History.
The contest winners are:
Banjo
1st place ($400) - Walt Koken, Avondale, Pa.
2nd place ($200) - Frank Evans, Toronto, Canada
3rd place ($150) - Bob Smakula, Elkins, W.Va.
4th place ($100) - Rick Good, Spring Valley, Ohio
5th place ($50) - Luke Richardson, Lawrenceburg, Tenn.
Youth Banjo - 15 years of age and under
1st place ($100) - Victor Furtado, Front Royal, Va.
2nd place ($50) - Matthew McShurley, Linden, Va.
Senior Banjo - 60 years of age and over
1st place ($200) - Rick Good, Spring Valley, Ohio
2nd place ($100) - Walt Koken, Avondale, Pa.
3rd place ($50) - Jimmy McCown, Hardy, Ky.
Fiddle
1st place ($400) - John Showman, Toronto, Canada
2nd place ($200) - Rafe Stefanini, Elkins Park, Pa.
3rd place ($150) - Polo Burguiere, Desaignes, France
4th place ($100) - Genevieve Koester, Chicago, Ill.
5th place ($50) - Clelia Stefanini, Elkins Park, Pa.
Youth Fiddle - 15 years of age and under
1st place ($100) - Andrew Vogts, Chadds Ford, Pa.
2nd place ($50) -Roger Netherton, St. Louis, Mo.
3rd place ($25) - Tessa Dillon, St. Albans, W.Va.
Senior Fiddle - 60 years of age and over
1st place ($200) - Walt Koken, Avondale, Pa.
2nd place ($100) - Jerry Correll, Elk Creek, Va.
3rd place ($50) - Bill Garbus, New Canaan, Conn.
Neo-Traditional Band
1st place ($700) - The Fish From Within, Lancaster, Pa.
2nd place ($400) - Westbound Rangers, Nashville, Tenn.
3rd place ($300) - Evil Diane, Oakland, Calif.
4th place ($200) - Jubal’s Kin, Longwood, Fla.
5th place ($100) - Festival Relations, Hurricane, W.Va.
Youth Neo-Traditional Band
($300) - Banana Express, Winchester, Va.
Best Original Song (ribbon and certificate awards)
The Fish From Within, Lancaster, Pa.
Best Original Tune (ribbon and certificate awards)
The Goldie String Band, Staunton, Va.
Traditional Band
1st place ($700) - Ratchet Mountain Rock Farmers, Athens, Ohio
2nd place ($400) - Uncle Henry’s Favorites, Crozet, Va.
3rd place ($300) - Orpheus Supertones, Avondale, Pa.
4th place ($200) - Yeah Buddies, Spring Valley, Ohio
5th place ($100) - Troublesome Creek String Band, Crozet, Va.
Youth Traditional Band
($300) - Psycho Exploding Orangutans, Front Royal, Va.
Old-Time Flat-Foot Dance - 15 years of age and under
1st place ($75) - Rebecca Molaro, Asheville, N.C.
2nd place ($50) - Jeffrey Amundsen, Longwood, Fla.
3rd place ($25) - Lulu Furtado, Front Royal, Va.
Old-Time Flat-Foot Dance - 16 years of age through 40
1st place ($75) - Becky Hill, Elkins, W.Va.
2nd place ($50) - Josephine Stewart, Charlottesville, Va.
3rd place ($25) - Emily Pinkerton, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Old-Time Flat-Foot Dance - 41 years of age through 59
1st place ($75) - Jay Bland, Kennesaw, Ga.
2nd place ($50) - Sharon Leahy, Spring Valley, Ohio
3rd place ($25) - Jan Scopel, Annapolis, Md.
Old-Time Flat-Foot Dance - 60 years of age and older
1st place ($75) - Marilyn Branch, Kalamazoo, Mich.
2nd place ($50) - Maureen Terman, Morgantown, W.Va.
3rd place ($25) - Jim O’Bermeyer, Crown Point, Ind.
For more information about the 22nd Annual Appalachian String Band Music Festival, contact Caryn Gresham, deputy commissioner for the Division, at (304) 558-0220.
A beautiful retreat listed in the National Register of Historic Places and operated by the West Virginia Division of Culture and History, Camp Washington-Carver serves as the state’s mountain cultural arts center. The facility nurtures the cultural heritage embodied in the site since its dedication in 1942 as a 4-H and agricultural extension camp for West Virginia’s African Americans. The camp is located in Fayette County next to Babcock State Park, just off Rt. 60 (Midland Trail) on Rt. 41.
The West Virginia Division of Culture and History is an agency within the West Virginia Department of Education and the Arts with Kay Goodwin, Cabinet Secretary. The Division, led by Commissioner Randall Reid-Smith, brings together the past, present and future through programs and services focusing on archives and history, arts, historic preservation and museums. For more information about the Division’s programs, events and sites, visit www.wvculture.org. The Division of Culture and History is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
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