For further information:

                                                                                                                           Guy McClure

                                                                                                                          Guy.McClure@athens.edu

For immediate release

May 17, 2013

www.athens.edu

Fiddlers Convention named a Top 20 Southeastern Event

                Athens, Ala.- For the third time, the Tennessee Valley Old Time Fiddlers Convention has been honored as one of the Southeast Tourism Society’s Top 20 Events.  The event also received this tribute in 2003 and 2007.

The Southeastern Tourism Society feels that each festival or event in the South represents a special piece of our culture and heritage and has been naming Top 20 Events since 1983.

The Southeastern Tourism Society is a non-profit organization whose goals and objectives are to develop, market, and promote travel to and within the Southeastern states. The organization has more than 450 members in ten Southeastern states. 

                This year's Fiddlers Convention will be October 4 and 5 on the campus of Athens State University. The event has historically attracted more than 15,000 people for the two-day event, with more than 200 musicians expected to participate.

Competition for the convention’s top award “Fiddle Champion” is always strong and this year will be no different. Prize money totaling $11,870 will be awarded in 18 different categories.

                Approximately 150 booths featuring old-fashioned arts and crafts are part of the convention. Convention goers will see everything from traditional artwork to coal-fired metal works.

                Contests begin on Friday, Oct. 4 at 7p.m., and will resume on Saturday, Oct. 5 at 8 a.m. Cost is $8 for Friday, $10 for Saturday and $15 for both days. Children ages 12 and under are free with a parent.

This year's special guest will be musical comedian Mike Snider performing Friday, October 4th at 4:00p.m. and 6:00p.m.  Snider, a native of Gleason, Tennessee, made his way on the country music scene in the 1980's with his incomparable wit and stellar banjo playing. Mike first worked his way into people's hearts through his hundreds of spots on TNN's Nashville Now, and his seven-year stay in the cornfield on "Hee Haw". In addition to his television work, Mike and his band entertained crowds for seven years at Nashville's Opryland USA.

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