The Granite Quarry Civitan Club will host the 60th annual Granite Quarry Fiddlers’ Convention on Saturday, October 10, at East Rowan High School near Salisbury, NC. Since 1970, the Civitan Club has honored individuals who have made substantial contributions to the promotion and preservation of traditional old-time and bluegrass music. This year’s honoree is Allen A. McCanless of Pittsboro, NC. The special presentation will be conducted at 8:00 p.m.
Al, an accomplished fiddler with over 50 years of musical experience, has performed with numerous bands in central North Carolina throughout his lifetime, including the 1970s ground-breaking group, New Deal String Band, the Red Clay Ramblers, the Bluegrass Experience, and most recently, Hindsight Bluegrass. Beyond the fiddle, the retired pharmacist also plays guitar, mandolin, clawhammer banjo, and harmonica, even crafting custom hybrid instruments like a “banjotar.” In addition to bluegrass music, he enjoys playing Irish-Celtic fiddle tunes.
Following the presentation, McCanless will be joined on stage by a band of friends for a short set of music. With Al sawing away on the fiddle, he will be joined by Tom Isenhour on guitar, Tom Hyatt on banjo, and Adael Shinn on upright bass.
The event will include competition in two band categories: bluegrass and bluegrass gospel, as well as individual youth and adult instrument competitions. Registration opens at 3:00 p.m. for all categories. Youth competition is first, followed by adult individual competition. Adult Band competition begins at 7:00 p.m. All adult band entries must be registered by 6:00 p.m. to be eligible to draw a number for performance time in a lottery style drawing. Youth winners will be announced at 8:00 p.m.
The Ralph Pennington Memorial Master Fiddler Award will be presented to the First Place Fiddler in the adult competition. Pennington was a luthier of finely crafted string instruments. Although he played all the instruments, he was most widely known for playing the fiddle and mandolin, and won many awards on both instruments.
The Don and Margaret Livengood Memorial Award will be presented to the Most Outstanding Youth Performer as selected by the panel of judges. The award was created by their daughter, Patti, and her husband, Walter Beaver, in memory of her parents. Don was the last of the original three Granite Quarry Civitan members who chaired the Fiddlers’ Convention Committee. The other two members of the committee were James Mathis and Junior Bost, both of whom are deceased. Mathis brought the idea for a fiddlers’ convention as a fundraiser after having served as principal at Union Grove where they held a competition.
The Granite Quarry Civitan Club President is Jim LaFevers, and the Fiddlers’ Convention Chairman is Norman Ribelin. Vivian Hopkins, former President of the North Carolina Bluegrass Association, and daughter of the late Ralph Pennington, works as the convention coordinator. Jeff Branch, Big Lick Bluegrass Festival promoter, will serve as this year’s MC.
Hopkins tells us…
“The Granite Quarry Civitan is a great Club to work with, and I am proud of the work that they do to provide money for local regional charities. The Fiddlers’ Convention is a major fundraiser for them and I’m happy to be involved as coordinator of the music part of the fundraising.”
The music begins at 4:00 pm with youth competition. The Civitans will serve BBQ chicken plates, hamburgers, hotdogs, and desserts throughout the day and evening. Food will be available from 11:00 a.m. until sellout.
Admission to the convention is $12. Children under 12 are free with a paid adult. East Rowan High School is located at 175 St. Luke’s Church Road, Salisbury, NC. For more information, call 704-267-9439 or 704-633-2995.
The registration rules and more details can be found on the convention Facebook page.
