James Sears with Ballard Ford at the 2026 Pickin’ For The Kids Bluegrass Festival – photo © Roger Black
The Laurel-London Optimist Club has played host to the Pickin’ for the Kids Bluegrass Festival for the past seventeen years. The festival is held each year is to raise money to buy Christmas gifts for under-privileged area children and families. It has become a staple of the community, helping thousands of families that otherwise may not have had a Merry Christmas.
Promoter Robert Prince and his staff of volunteers always do an amazing job with this festival, never forgetting what it is truly all about. This year’s Friday night all-gospel show included four great bands consisting of Higher Vision, Laurel Mountain Bluegrass, Fairway Drive, and Ballard Ford.
The Ballard Ford band stole the show thanks to the great picking of two very young and talented pickers. James Sears, age ten, on the fiddle and his younger brother, Theodore Sears, age seven, showing off some pickin’, fiddlin’, and singing skills that would make some seasoned veterans envious. James stated that he started learning to play the fiddle when he was four and a half, and brother Theodore started at age five. Both boys learned their craft under the watchful eye of their grandpa, a very proud Jeff Sears who also plays guitar and sings in the band.
Keep an eye on these two youngsters. Their futures seem to be bright. This band is based out of Williamsburg, Kentucky.
The West Liberty Mountain Boys opened the show on Saturday, a full day of great bluegrass music that included Timberline Road, Fairway Drive, Fenced In, The Dean Osborne Band, and Straight Creek, a band that has played all seventeen years of the festival.
The Grascals were this year’s feature attraction at Pickin’ for the Kids. They played an amazing set early in the day and then closed out the festival in normal Grascals fashion with a high-energy, hard-driving set that got wild and crazy.
This year’s Pickin’ for the kids was another great festival with a great mission. Because of the great bands, the great fans, and the great staff of volunteers, many area families will have a happier Christmas this year.
