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31st Walnut Valley Festival Set To Go
Winfield, Kansas...With only a matter of days left until the official start of the 31st annual Walnut Valley Festival the sounds of acoustic music are drifting through the trees at the Winfield fairgrounds. The stages will soon be finished, food vendors are getting ready, and the campgrounds are starting to show signs of life around the clock as friends and fans return for their yearly dose of songs and fellowship.
This year the festival will include a number of new performers, including Red Wine from Italy and the Walnut Valley Men's Chorus from Winfield. There will also be the artists that folks at Walnut Valley have come to know and expect. The Byron Berline Band with Barry Patton, Beppe Gambetta, Marley's Ghost, Spontaneous Combustion, and of course John McCutcheon and Tom Chapin are among the many returnees. Also among the performers making their return to Winfield are favorites Mike Cross, Laurie Lewis, Bluestem, and Crucial Smith.
The acoustic instrument contests are again a major part of the Walnut Valley Festival. Each year top players come to Winfield to find out how they stack up against others who share a common interest in one of the eight different instruments featured in contests that include one international championship, five national championships, and two Walnut Valley Championships. The National Flat-Pick Guitar contest was held as a part of the first Walnut Valley Festival, and has been held every year since. Over the years national championships have been added for the mountain dulcimer, hammer dulcimer, finger-style guitar and bluegrass banjo.
The National Fingerstyle Guitar Championship has gained in popularity. The last few years the contest has drawn a field of guitarists that has included professional touring artists, studio musicians, and music professors.
The winners of the contests receive prizes that range from cash to custom, hand-made, one-of-a-kind instruments. This year the value of contest prizes to be given away will be over $60,153. The prize instruments will be on display prior to being awarded to the winners at the arts and crafts booth during the festival. A number of the luthiers (instrument makers) will have booths at the festival to offer instruments for sale or answer questions.
The Walnut Valley Festival starts "officially" on September 19th and runs through September 22nd. Tickets are available at the Walnut Valley Festival office, 918 Main Street, in Winfield through 5:00 pm September 17th or by calling 620-221-3250. Fans may also purchase tickets at the festival grounds.
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