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Festival History Goes Back in Time
by Sabrina Greene
Far back in the hills and hollows of Madison County, people still have what are called "front porch pickings." Families visit each other and come together to play instruments such as the banjo, guitar, and the fiddle. They sing songs that have been passed down to them over the years. Even little children get involved. Those who come to the gatherings enjoy them greatly. The Lunsford Festival extends this experience to the outside world.
The festival's origins go back to the early 1900's when people began to notice the rich musical traditions of the area. In 1925 Robert Winslow Gordon of Harvard University came here to listen to the older people sing. He talked to Bascom Lamar Lunsford, a native of Mars Hill, about preserving these songs before they all disappeared. In 1928 Lunsford took Gordon around to start collecting. Gordon, however, could not stay, so he left Lunsford to carry on the work.
Lunsford spent the rest of his life collecting and playing traditional music from Western North Carolina and wrote many songs himself, including the famous Good Old Mountain Dew. In 1928 he organized Asheville's Mountain Dance and Folk Festival, which has been called the nation's first modern folk festival. Although this became a big event, Lunsford was always very strict about who could play in it. He only wanted local people to be featured.
As the years went on, the festival grew. In the early 1960's, however, Lunsford's health began to fail, and it was then that he agreed to give his name to it. Now it takes place each year on the Mars Hill College campus on the first weekend in October.
The mountain music tradition goes back to the British Isles. Those who migrated here from Scotland, Ireland, and England, along with their huge families, also brought music and ballads. Isolated in these mountains their tradition of music flourished. Each family passed their songs and tunes down to their children.
The Lunsford Festival today features traditional ballads, bluegrass, and gospel music. During the day there is plenty to do at the Heritage Festival, also on the Mars Hill College campus.
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