GrayMist Fiddle Fest to be held in Groveton on June 27th 

June 10, 2010

GROVETON — Plans are underway for a new music festival which will combine the outdoor experience of the longtime Stark Old-Time Fiddlers’ Contest with performances by modern-day acoustic traditional performers from all around the North Country.

GrayMist Fiddle Fest is set for Sunday, June 27, at GrayMist Farm on the Brown Road in Groveton. Plans were launched last month after the announcement that the Lancaster Fair will not be hosting the Old-Time Fiddlers’ Contest this year. Almost immediately, several local musicians
and residents decided to pick up the project and find it a new home.  The last Sunday in June was picked for the debut of the yearly event as it
has been the traditional date for the Stark Fiddlers’ Contest and like the event held for many years in Stark and most recently in Lancaster, it
will begin at 12 noon.

The only change is that the actual contest of fiddlers itself will not be held. Rather, the new event will be centered on a day of traditional music—including bluegrass, Celtic, old-timey and more, mostly relying on acoustic instruments. Admission to GrayMist Fiddle Fest is $8 for adults; $4 for children under 12, and children under 3 will be free admission.

Among the partners in the new festival is the Groveton Regional Economic Action Team (GREAT), which will be helping with the logistics of
the events. GrayMist Fiddle Fest, explained Samantha Gray Young, will be “a return to the fields in the great outdoors,” much like the original Fiddlers’ Contest. “It will be more similar to what long-time fiddle fans enjoyed with the open grassy area of Stark, where it all began,” said Young, who is the daughter of GrayMist Farm owners Gordon and Nancy Gray.

“We’ll have the event in a 30-acre field which is behind the house and barns. We’re looking at setting up the main stage at the back of the field, so
that it faces the house and the mountains in the east,” she said.

Young added, “I think it will be nice to bring it back to the way it was—people being able to enjoy sitting in a field, relaxing, taking a nap while listening to the music, maybe playing a game of Frisbee. Hopefully, we’ll be able to get some of the old crowd back.”

A key part of the plans include a main stage area for performances, with a local group of musicians known as the 12 Fiddlers among the performers. The day before the Fiddle Fest is the Paddlefest, sponsored by GREAT, which will end at the Common in Guildhall, Vt. On that Saturday afternoon, it is expected that the 12 Fiddlers will perform as a way of promoting the Fiddle Fest for the next day, and to give folks a slice of music they can expect to hear.  “We don’t want people to think it’s just fiddlers at the Fiddle Fest,” however, said Young. “It’s an event for all ages, for anyone who wants to come and play—with their fiddle, guitar, banjo, mandolin.” Besides 12 Fiddlers, other local bands, including Patrick Ross and Hot Flannel playing lively
uptempo bluegrass, and the regional Celtic ensemble Isley Mist Ceili, are already on the roster to appear. Several other featured performers and groups are in the planning stages at this time.

But organizers say there is plenty of room for those who would like to bring their acoustic instruments—fiddles, guitars, mandolins, banjos—and to sign up to perform betweenthe special features. It is asked that those wishing to perform should preregister. (A registration form is available on the Fiddle Fest website which is at, www.graymistfiddlefest.com.)

Registration will also be available the day of the event, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Registration will close promptly at one. Organizers say they also expect to see multiple jam sessions taking place. “It is overwhelmingly a music event,” said Young, “and people can come listen to the great music, surrounded by the White Mountains, in a green fi eld on the Brown Road at the Gray farm!”

Food and craft vendors are also planned for the event. And families are welcome to pack a picnic lunch, bring along their lawn chair or a blanket and umbrella and sit outside to enjoy a day of music. Because this is being held on a working farm, attendees are asked not to bring glass bottles into the event. Coolers, cans and plastic bottles are fine,

Anyone seeking further information about GrayMist Fiddle Fest can visit the official website at www.
graymistfiddlefest.com. You can also contact Nancy Gray at 636-1896 and at graymist.gn@gmail.com or Samantha Gray Young at 237-5551, ext. 1330, or by email at syoung@first colebrookbank.com.

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