2022 Florida State Fiddlers Convention

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POSTPONED DUE TO HURRICANE IAN!

The FSFA is pleased to announce the guest Artists for this year’s Annual Fiddlers Convention – Emily Schaad & Sonya Badigian

Emily Schaad

Old-time musician Emily Schaad plays strong and rhythmic fiddle, clawhammer banjo, and solid back-up guitar, and she has spent a significant amount of time with musicians from western North Carolina in Surry, Watauga, and Buncombe counties in particular.
Emily came to the music of the southern Appalachians as a classical violist and public school string teacher. She studied viola performance at Curtis Institute and Juilliard, and has taught elementary, middle, and high school orchestra in her native New York State. Emily was director and founder of Stringendo, Inc., an award-winning community orchestra school in Poughkeepsie, NY. Emily is currently serving as Director of Orchestra at Clemson University

Sonya Badigian

Sonya Badigian grew up in New England and learned fiddle amidst a small but fierce old time scene centered around deep, thoughtful listening to 78-era recordings and sources from Kentucky and Missouri. In the ensuing years she turned her ear particularly to traditional players like Snake Chapman, Buddy Thomas, and Gene Goforth who pushed themselves to experiment with more modern styles and repertoires. She also picked up guitar along the way. In her early twenties Sonya moved to North Carolina, where she currently resides. Her approach to old time is to closely investigate and work at channeling the sincere, playful energy that permeates old recordings, and to incorporate that sense of movement into a natural sound that feels informed. She is fascinated with the accumulation of peculiar details that amount to an individual’s musical fingerprint. In teaching she aims not just to guide students toward a playing style that is tonally and rhythmically intact, but also to teach a listening style that inspires a sense of wonder and develops their musical imaginations.

The Florida State Fiddlers Association Annual Fiddle Convention will be held at O’Leno State Park in High Springs, Florida, September 30th through October 2nd. We will be using the group camping area at O’Leno State Park, which includes lots of “rustic” cabins that each include 8 single bunks (no indoor plumbing but bath houses are nearby!). The cabins are available for rent through the FSFA, at a rate of $40 a night or $75 for the weekend. Cabin rentals are first come first served, so please reserve your cabins in advance. We will confirm your cabin rental after we process your payment. If you would rather tent camp, RV camp or sleep in a van or car, you will need to reserve a camping spot through the park. There are two different campgrounds with camping spots, one very close to the group camp (Magnolia Loop), and the other a short drive, so try for the closer one if you want to be closer.

If you would rather stay off site, the state park will charge you the daily entry fee when you come into the park each day. If you will be arriving after the guard gate closes, you will need to call the state park ahead of time and make a plan. No animals other than service animals are allowed in the group camping area. All attendees will have to follow the rules of the state park. Please see their web site for clarification and contact us if you have any questions!

Convention registration prices are:
Individual – $40
Family – $75
Evening events only – $10

Each year at our Annual Convention, we have the String Band Contest. It is a bit unusual in that we do not charge an entry fee, but rather ask that each band provide a pie as their form of entry. After judging, the pies are then chosen by the bands in-order from last place to first. The last place band will have first choice of pies, and the winners will get whatever is left on the table. We will also be awarding ribbons for the top 3 bands. This is a fun contest and we encourage pickup bands.

It is recommended that you join the organization or renew your membership ($15) but membership in FSFA is not required for convention attendance. We also want to be sure that we are accessible to everyone so please let us know of any special needs you might have and we will do our best to accommodate them!

We will not be offering food/coffee/etc at this event, so plan for your own needs!

We will have our usual mix of workshops, jams, concerts, string band contest, and maybe even a dance! Check in is between 2-3:00 on Friday and check out is at 10:00 am on Sunday. Please plan to attend and tell all your friends to join you!

2022 Florida Fiddlers Convention Schedule
Friday:
Registration – 2:00-3:30
Fiddle Workshop – 4-5:00
Jam with the Instructors –5 – 6:00
(on your own for dinner)
Concert/Dance – 7pm
Saturday:
Fiddle Workshop – 9-10:30
Accompanying Fiddle Tunes workshop – 10:30-12:00
(lunch on your own)
Senior Showcase and Awards ceremony – 1:00
String Band Contest – 2:00
Tea Party (BYO “tea” and snacks to share, wear a fun hat or crazy tie and mingle!) – 4:30-5:30
FSFA Meeting (all are welcome) – 5:30-6:00
(dinner on your own)
Concert – 7:00 pm
Sunday:
Fiddle Workshop – 9-10:00am

Everyone must be checked out of the cabins by 10:00 so we can go through inspection for check out but you can remain in the park and jam all day in the public areas if you want! All events and registration will take place in the Lodge down by the river in the group camping area. Jams will occur everywhere informally and we encourage folks to be welcoming to others and to put together a “pick-up band” and enter the string band contest! We will not have use of the cafeteria at all so plan for your own needs as far as food, ice, refrigeration, cooking, utensils, coffee, water, etc!

The Florida State Fiddlers Convention is funded in-part by:

2022 FSFA Annual Fiddlers’ Convention

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The Florida State Fiddlers Association Annual Fiddle Convention will be held at O’Leno State Park in High Springs, Florida, September 30th through October 2nd. We will be using the group camping area at O’Leno State Park, which includes lots of “rustic” cabins that each include 8 single bunks (no indoor plumbing but bath houses are nearby!). The cabins are available for rent through the FSFA, at a rate of $40 a night or $75 for the weekend. Cabin rentals are first come first served, so please reserve your cabins in advance. We will confirm your cabin rental after we process your payment. If you would rather tent camp, RV camp or sleep in a van or car, you will need to reserve a camping spot through the park. There are two different campgrounds with camping spots, one very close to the group camp (Magnolia Loop), and the other a short drive, so try for the closer one if you want to be closer. If you would rather stay off site, the state park will charge you the daily entry fee when you come into the park each day. If you will be arriving after the guard gate closes, you will need to call the state park ahead of time and make a plan. No animals other than service animals are allowed in the group camping area. All attendees will have to follow the rules of the state park. Please see their web site for clarification and contact us if you have any questions!

Convention registration prices are:

Individual – $40

Family – $75

Evening events only – $10

It is recommended that you join the organization or renew your membership ($15) but membership in FSFA is not required for convention attendance. We also want to be sure that we are accessible to everyone so please let us know of any special needs you might have and we will do our best to accommodate them!

We will not be offering food/coffee/etc at this event, so plan for your own needs!

The special guest will be announced soon! We will have our usual mix of workshops, jams, concerts, string band contest, and maybe even a dance! Check in is between 2-3:00 on Friday and check out is at 10:00 am on Sunday. Please plan to attend and tell all your friends to join you!

Below is the link to the registration form.

https://forms.gle/Be3SJC37PsriwU3t6

Florida State Fiddlers Association – Promoting traditional fiddle music in Florida and beyond.