Union Grove Old Time Fiddlers’ Convention
The Union Grove Old Time Fiddlers’ Convention was started in 1924 by H.P VanHoy as a way to raise money for the new school in Union Grove by having a fiddlin’ convention. Starting out at just 200 or so people, it quickly grew and was around 8,500 attendees by the early 1950s. In the 1960s-1970s with the help of H.P VanHoy’s son, J. Pierce VanHoy, the Union Grove Old Time Fiddlers’ Convention had become nationally known and had a peak attendance exceeding over 100,000 folks! Due to the increasing crowd sizes, the Union Grove Old Time Fiddlers’ Convention’s last year at the Union Grove School was in 1969 and in 1970 the convention was moved right here to VanHoy Farms as the “World Championship Fiddlers’ Convention” hosted and produced by J. Pierce VanHoy. Our 12,00 person arena, The H. P. Van Hoy Memorial Coliseum was erected in the mids ’70s and still stands and is used today!
The Fiddlers’ Convention has always been first and foremost an Old-Time music competition but the addition of the Modern Blue Grass category was added in 1957. The dobro category was added in 1971. While the musical styles, prize money, and crowd slightly changed from year to year the point system always has remained a constant :
Many, many Pickers, Fiddlers, Bluegrass bands, & musicians have attended or competed in the Fiddlers’ Convention over the years and part of the beauty of the Fiddlers’ Convention was the fact that it became increasingly hard to distinguish the amateurs from the semi-professional from the professionals. Some of the best music was made off of the stage and in the campgrounds among friends and strangers alike. It’s rumored that Jerry Garcia, of The Grateful Dead, even made the trip out to the Fiddlers’ Convention once or twice with his good buddy David Grisman (Who also happened to be in the 1964 World Champion Band ‘Winnie Winston & The New York Ramblers’). This sense of exploration, respect for tradition & the importance of community is the spirit we strive to keep alive here at VanHoy Farms.
To document the importance and tradition of the Union Grove Fiddlers’ Convention a series of records & recordings were started in 1967 by J. Pierce VanHoy. There were 8 records released in-house on the Union Grove Talking Machine record label from 1967-1974. Two additional releases were also released by Folkways Records in 1961 & 1962 documenting the 37th and 38th conventions.
WE HAVE RECENTLY FOUND A FEW MINT CONDITION COPIES AND HAVE LISTED THEM FOR SALE ON DISCOGS.COM!!! Click the Discogs link above to own a piece of VanHoy Farms history!
J. Pierce VanHoy
H. P. VanHoy
