A Festival of Fiddles

Today I woke up with the excitement of a ten year old on Christmas morning for today was the Old Time Fiddlers Convention and Festival in Goleta for which I've been waiting for two whole weeks. Tonight I'm going to bed with more excitement than what I awoke with and that, my friends, is a rare thing.

Held at Stow House, La Patera Ranch in Goleta, the 38th Fiddle Festival was everything I could have imagined and then just a little bit more. The only thing I wish is that my folksy friends in Chico could have been there with me because I know they would have just loved it. However, I went to the festival alone and found that to be pretty great as well because I made an important purchase that may not have happened if I'd been accompanied by others and I also made the acquaintance of a fellow musician and folk music lover. You may be curious as to what this important purchase of mine was and my excitement won't allow me to keep it from you any longer. I am now the proud owner of my very own fiddle. I am absolutely enthralled and can't wait to start really playing (as opposed to the tinkering that I've been doing all evening to the benefit, or annoyance, of my fellow housemates) and start making some real music. I believe strongly in fate and signs and to me this was one of those signs of fate that I couldn't possibly have ignored. I learned as much as I could from the 'fiddle man' from whom I purchased my fiddle about the mechanics of the instrument and then spoke briefly with a professional from the group The Sausage Grinders who imparted his opinion that the most important thing about fiddling is the bowing. That's what'll make the people jig along to the music, and that is exactly what I want. So now I plan on taking a couple of lessons in order to install some proper base before taking off, just my fiddle and me.

The festival was great with loads of music both on stage and in the form of informal sessions scattered around the ranch. That is by far my favorite form of music, a group of people gathering in harmony to create a treat for the ears. Fiddles, banjos, mandolins, guitars, stand up basses, mandolas, and drums along with other instruments I hadn't seen before were accompanying people of all ages and all abilities. It was while watching the Celtic group playing that I stuck up a conversation with my new friend who also plays the guitar, mandolin and has recently picked up the fiddle as well. We ended up talking for the rest of the festival and wandering to the different groups of musicians and ending with the final performance by the Sausage Grinders. When we parted, him for CalPoly and me for IV, we exchanged contact information and then went our separate ways. If only we lived in the same place I could have found myself a jam partner, though San Luis Obispo isn't terribly far away... :)

Now I only wish there were more fiddle festivals but alas I'll have to settle with whatever local gigs I can find starting with an Irish open session at one of the local pubs on Thursday night, maybe I can pick up some tips! Don't fear I'll keep you updated on my progress and perhaps someday in the future you can all hear the beautiful sounds of my fiddle and me.