First, happy 10 years to this blog! It was born in a café in Iquitos, Perú August 10, 2015, and it’s still going, though my travels are more local now.
This August, my parents join me for a long weekend in a familiar place, beautiful Fancy Gap, to camp and attend the 89th Old Fiddlers’ Convention in nearby Galax, Virginia.
In 2022, I wrote about the musical culture of this area with relation to topography in “Ballads of Fancy Gap” and referenced the Galax convention. Beginning in 1935, it’s been one of the longest-running events of its type and has occurred each year except twice (during World War II and in 2020 during the COVID pandemic). The current convention goes for 6 days and it’s held in Felts Park near downtown Galax; attendees and musicians come from places near and far, and some have been coming for years.
Neither my parents nor I had attended the Fiddlers before this, though I set up at Galax farmers market last year in early August, and that went well. The weather here this time of year is usually rainy (“It always rains for the Fiddlers’) — parts of Galax flooded last week, but by Friday of the convention, the sky clears, streets have dried, the creek has receded and the park is not so muddy. A cool front leaves evening temperatures low enough for jackets.
While it’s called a “Fiddlers’ Convention,” there are musicians here who play banjo, guitar, mandolin, dulcimer, dobro, and stand-up bass as well as violin. For a musical event at the current era, the Fiddlers’ Convention is thankfully affordable. It costs $15/attendee for a weekend day, featuring hours of music.
The full Sturgeon moon rises above Felts Park as fiddlers, pickers, and singers fill the stage and jam in tents. We sit on lawn chairs in front of the covered grand stand, as the sunlight lowers and sounds echo across the valley. Beyond the park, Vaughan-Bassett furniture factory stands amid the rolling hills of the New River plateau.
Our neighbor at camp in Fancy Gap plays in the band Blue Rock’n Grass, and we catch their song on Friday and Saturday. Another band plays “I’ll Fly Away” as we’re settling. Each band on stage plays one song per night, and there are over 100 bluegrass and old-time bands competing; many are from Virginia and North Carolina, but one band came from Sydney, Australia!
While the stage holds the main event, free-flowing jam sessions pop up around the park throughout the evening. Attendees may walk by performers’ camps and listen to their music, free from the limits of the stage competition. For many fans, this is the best part of the convention experience. As I walk down the dirt lanes after dark to rows of RVs and campers, I hear a duo playing fiddle and flute in a more “Celtic” style reel; another camp has a small stage set up with clogging alongside the seated 5 or 6-piece Twin Creeks String band. The full moon shines above as others wander and stop to listen.
Here is the official website for the Galax Old Fiddlers’ Convention. https://www.oldfiddlersconvention.com/default.htm
WSLS News, out of Roanoke, VA has an article, with video, about the convention. https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2025/08/09/watch-89th-old-fiddlers-convention-held-in-galax/
The convention goes for 6 days and includes solo musicians and flat-foot dancers as well as bands in the “old-time” and “bluegrass” categories. My brother Kevin, who plays banjo and fiddle, has described the distinctions between these two music styles. This website explains it in great detail: https://hvbluegrass.org/whats-the-real-difference-between-bluegrass-and-old-time/
As the event ends late on Saturday, winners of all categories are announced. We have to leave before the winning bands are named, but Blue Rock’n Grass, featuring our bassist camping neighbor, is first place in the Bluegrass category. Twin Creeks, from Laurel Fork, VA (near Fancy Gap), receives third place for Old Time bands.
https://www.oldfiddlersconvention.com/2025win.htm
We enjoy our stay again at Fancy Gap Cabins and Campground.
The Farmers’ Market, Saturday morning on Main St, goes well this time, too. I talk with several shoppers who are also attending the convention. It’s also fun to see familiar vendors, like Wired For Healing and Haga’s Folly. Part From Me Farms has Chanterelle mushrooms, which I LOVE.
Finally, we have a meal at Lakeview Restaurant on Hwy 52 in Fancy Gap, which has been in business for many years and outlived the motel it was once next to.
This Saturday, August 16 , I’m setting up with my jewelry at POP!-Con and Renaissance Faire in Sanford, NC, at the main library. Here is the website for this event with details; I’d like to see you there!
Thanks again for your support! Until next trip, Arianna
arianna's creative travels 