Sunday at Grey Fox 2016 continues to have some top quality bands on the stage and the regular morning mediation and yoga classes, but it is also well known for its focus on ensuring a strong continuation of bluegrass music and traditions to the next generations.
On Sunday Mary Doub and Ron Thomason present the Bill Vernon Memorial Scholarships. Sponsors of this include Deering, Collings, Northfield, Beard, Eastman, and ArtistWorks, as well as all the people who bought raffle tickets or donated to the Grey Fox raffles. This year Nick DiSebastian received a scholarship for post-graduate studies in music therapy, and Jason Keiser received a scholarship to attend East Tennessee State University this fall.
The Kids Academy also does their last practices Sunday morning, takes their group photos, and then take the Main Stage and showcases all their hard work from the weekend. Mark Panfil does a remarkable job along with his team of professional music teachers who devote themselves to the kids in this program every Grey Fox. They ensure that the kids not only learn the tunes, but also that they discover the fun of playing and a love and respect for bluegrass music.
The organizers, staff, volunteers, musicians, and festival attendees of Grey Fox come together every year creating an event that so many people look to as the highlight of their year. It takes an enormous amount of planning and work to have so many moving parts flow so seamlessly enabling folks to come and hear some of the top names of bluegrass, learn about the music, and make friends and memories.
Thank you to all the folks that make Grey Fox and like so many people out there, I am already looking forward to next year.
