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Topanga Banjo ● Fiddle
Contest
and Folk Festival
May 18th, 2008
at Paramount Ranch near Agoura Hills, California in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation area
The main goal of the Topanga Banjo●Fiddle Contest has always
been to produce maximum participation within an affordable, quality event, one
which enables thousands of people, in an outdoor, non-commercial setting, to
experience the joy of acoustic music, folk singing and folk dancing. Through
volunteer participation and sponsorship, its proceeds continue to go toward
charitable causes and the promotion of old time and Bluegrass
music activities.
Every year spectator attendance grows. Every year the number
of contestants grows. Every year the quality of music and dancing improves.
Even if it's a simple version of "Cripple Creek," the level of
playing shows there was more practicing done this time in an effort to top last
years winners. Every year respected and talented people from the Old Time &
Bluegrass community donate their day to judging the contestants. Bluegrass is judged separately from traditional styles
and there is always a good representation from both groups.
Unique to the Topanga Banjo●Fiddle Contest is the
random mix
of beginning, intermediate and advanced players, professional players
and
string bands. On this program, you never know what's coming next! Each
person
who enters decides for himself which category he or she belongs in; if
they
rate themselves as "advanced" but score lower on the judges scorecards,
no one need ever know, and if they rate themselves "beginning" and
score higher, the judges can bump the contestant up a category or two.
Contestants have ranged from age four to 98, and have come from all
over the
country, mostly from Southern California with others from Northern
California, Arizona, the Pacific Northwest, New England, Asia and
Europe.
An important feature of the event is the "jamming"
which greatly enhances the festival atmosphere. All attendees to the contest
and festival are encouraged to bring their own instruments. In the Western
streets of Paramount Ranch, small clusters of hot pickers and fiddlers, perhaps
elated youngsters strumming alongside professionals and surrounded by knots of
delighted spectators, can meet and swap songs, strums and licks. Last year's
friends can renew acquaintances. It would not be unusual to find "names"
such as Byron Berline, Richard Greene, Stu Jamieson, Pat Cloud, Larry McNeely,
Barry Solomon, Peter Feldmann, Tom Sauber and John Hickman jamming incognito
within the groups. The advantage these musicians have is to play to their
hearts content without the limited time constraints of the contest stage or the
pressure of competition.
Excerpted from www.topangabanjofiddle.org/history.html
www.folkworks.org/AdSpecial/topanga1.html
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