Fiddlers’ Frolic

 

Fiddlers’ Frolic

FIDDLERS TAKE TO THE THEATER STAGE

FRIDAY NIGHT AT OLD-TIME MUSIC FESTIVAL

 

Fiddlers, other instrumentalists and those who like to listen to good, toe-tapping fiddle music are invited to the Fiddlers’ Frolic at the annual Old-Time Music, Ozark Heritage Festival. The frolic begins at 5 p.m. Friday, May 31, on the theater stage at the West Plains Civic Center. The two-day annual event in downtown West Plains, Mo., celebrates Ozarks music and culture.  Admission to all festival events is free. Festival hours are noon-9 p.m. both Friday and Saturday.

 

An annual component of the festival, the Fiddlers Frolic gives participating fiddlers an opportunity to select and lead tunes in an open jam session.  It focuses principally on traditional fiddling found in this region, but traditional is defined broadly and flexibly, and fiddlers of all backgrounds, stylistic orientations and skill levels are welcome to participate.

 

“It’s always enjoyable and really fascinating to hear the participating fiddlers exchange tunes and compare notes, in multiple senses of the word,” Meacham said.  “We know that there will be folks on hand who are very knowledgeable about the history of fiddling in this part of the country and will provide interesting commentary on many of the tunes that will be played.”

 

One of the goals of the Fiddlers Frolic is to help conserve and perpetuate old-time tunes and techniques.  As a result, it tends to emphasize traditional fiddling, but traditions are always evolving and the group doesn’t want to define tradition in an artificially rigid way, so fiddlers of all kinds are strongly encouraged to join in. And, of course, we’ll need banjoists, guitarists and other instrumentalists to provide accompaniment.  Everyone’s welcome.

 

For more information about The Fiddlers Frolic, contact Meacham at 417-372-3177 or mattmeacham@comcast.net, or the West Plains Council on the Arts at info@westplainsarts.org

 

2019 Festival partners include the West Plains Council on the Arts, the City of West Plains, Missouri State University-West Plains, the Ozark Heritage Welcome Center, and the West Plains Civic Center.  Partial funding for this event was provided by the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.

 

For more information on the festival e-mail info@westplainsarts.org, visit the website at http://www.oldtimemusic​.​org, or “like” the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Old.Time.Music.Festival