It’s official. A second attempt will be made in August 2015 to return the Guinness World Record for Largest Mandolin Ensemble to the United States during the Galax Old Fiddlers Convention.
A group under the direction of Tara Linhardt set a new record at Galax in 2012 with 389, which was subsequently broken by a group of 414 mandolinists in Crete. She has applied to Guinness for a rematch, which has been approved, so it’s full speed ahead for next year.
More details will be announced as the attempt draws closer, but anyone who can plunk out a few notes on their taterbug is asked to bring one along to Galax, and plan to take part in the official mando-jam. It will be held at 2:00 p.m. on the Tuesday of the Galax festival, August 4, 2015.
The limiting factor is less likely to be people willing to play a few simple songs on mandolin than the number of available instruments. If you have more than one, or know where you can borrow one (or three!), start making plans now to bring them to Galax.
Though the mandolin has a long and noble history in the music of Crete, we can’t let them keep the record. It belongs in Galax!
