Fiddlin' Around

Last weekend we had picture perfect weather for the Raccoon County Folk Festival.  Organized by Pete McDonald and some other folks it's a great local event for the music community held at a lovely setting in Burton.  If you've never been, make it a point to go next year.

Each year there's a fiddle contest where you can hear a wide variety of styles.  This year the first place prize was taken by multi-instrumentalist Zach Smolko of Helper T-Cell fame.  Who knew such a zaney musician could also fiddle so well.

Farther afield, the summer got off to a great start when Paul, Laura, Helen and Jack took off to the Mt. Airy Fiddler's convention in North Carolina.  Helen and her friend Lila played tunes together for the first time.  After playing a tune through once or twice, they decided they were rehearsed enough to compete on the big stage.  Let's hope they have many more tune sessions to look forward to.