Champion fiddle, bluegrass banjo and mandolin players today competed for prizes
during the 30th annual Vandalia Gathering.
The winners were:
Youth Fiddle (age 15 and under)
1st place ($75) - Meredith Pheasant, Fairmont
2nd place ($50) - Aesop Brown, Hurricane
3rd place ($25) - Jerrica Hilbert, St. Albans
Fiddle (under age 60)
1st place ($400) - Meredith Pheasant, Fairmont
2nd place ($250) - Chance McCoy, Martinsburg
3rd place ($150) - Jenny Allinder, St. Albans,
4th place ($75) - Jared Nutter, Meadow Bridge
5th place ($50) - Jake Krack, Orma
Senior Fiddle (age 60 and over)
1st place ($400) - Junior Spencer, Frankford
2nd place ($250) - Elmer Rich, Morgantown
Honorary 2nd place ($250) - Harold Burns, Yawkey
3rd place ($150) - Don Jones, Scott Depot
4th place ($75) - Boyd Phillips, Elkins
5th place ($50) - Mack Samples, Duck
Mandolin (all ages)
1st place ($400) - Brandon Bentley, Sumerco
2nd place ($250) - Dan Kessinger, St. Marys
3rd place ($150) - John Putnam, Looneyville
4th place ($75) - Robin Kessinger, St. Albans
5th place ($50) - Rachel Singleton, Summersville
Bluegrass Banjo (all ages)
1st place ($400) - Butch Osborne, Parkersburg
2nd place ($250) - Zack Life, Murraysville
3rd place ($150) - Doug Cossin, Mount Alto
4th place ($75) - Ben Harrington, Artie
5th place ($50) - Ron Seebaugh, Parkersburg
The annual Vandalia Gathering is a FREE celebration of the traditional arts,
music, dance, stories, crafts and foods of West Virginia. The Cultural Center
and State Capitol Complex grounds plays host to this expanding family-style
gathering each year on Memorial Day weekend. The festival continues tomorrow
at 10 a.m., with old-time banjo, lap dulcimer and flat-pick guitar contests
beginning at noon.
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.
For more information, call Ginny Painter at (304) 558-0220, ext. 120.
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. The Cultural Center is
West Virginia’s official showcase for the arts. Visit the Division’s
website at www.wvculture.org for more information about programs of the Division.
The Division of Culture and History is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action
Employer.
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Ginny Painter
Deputy Commissioner/Communications Manager
West Virginia Division of Culture and History
The Cultural Center
1900 Kanawha Blvd., East
Charleston, WV 25305
Phone (304) 558-0220, ext. 120
Fax (304) 558-2779
Email ginny.painter@wvculture.org