Jamboree Craft Awards Presented

The annual Fiddler’s Jamboree Craft Awards were presented Friday.
Larry and Deb Drake of Nashville received the “Best of Show” award for their display of handmade Sterling Silver Gemstone Jewelry.
Meanwhile, Fawn Gabel of Gatlinburg was presented the “Best Appalachian Craft” award for her display of Appalachian String Instruments handmade by Danny Williams of Winston Salem, North Carolina.
The “Best Newcomer” Award went to Thomas Nunnery of Jena, Louisiana for his hand sculpted bird feeders and wine bottles.
Scott Cantrell of Livingston received the “Best Display” award for his chainsaw art.
The awards were presented by Emma Adkins, the Fiddler’s Jamboree Director of Crafts along with Olivia Norton and Macie Bouldin.
Come see all the crafts along the streets in the downtown area today.
The Fiddler’s Jamboree resumes at 9:00 a.m. with preliminaries in the following music and dance categories:
*Junior Old Time Appalachian Flatfoot dance (ages up to 39)
*Senior Old Time Appalachian Flatfoot dance ( ages 40 and over)
*Senior Buckdancing (ages 40 and over)
*Senior Clogging (ages 40 and over)
*Bluegrass Banjo
*Junior Fiddlers (ages 13-39)
*Flat Top Guitar
*Contest Fiddle for the Neil Dudney Award
*Bluegrass Band*
*Senior Fiddlers (ages 40 and over)
*Square Dancing (4 Couples-8 Total Dancers).
Preliminaries will be held in each event and then the top three finalists will be called back tonight to compete for first, second, and third place.
The winners of the Junior and Senior Fiddling competition will square off for the Grand Champion Award, the Berry C. Williams Memorial Trophy at the conclusion of the festival.
The Jamboree Blue Blaze Award will be presented at 3:00 p.m. to recognize a musician that is actively cultivating a love of bluegrass music. Sierra Hull is this year’s recipient. Her journey began on the stage of the Smithville Fiddlers Jamboree at the young age of 9 years old. By age 11, Alison Krauss had called with an invitation to the Opry stage; by 12, Rounder Records was expressing interest (she signed a record deal with Rounder at 13, with her first album released at 16.) She’s also played the White House, Carnegie Hall (twice), the Kennedy Center, traveled around the world sharing her music, and released three albums. Then there’s the fact that Berklee gave her the school’s most prestigious award, the Presidential Scholarship, a first for a bluegrass musician.
Meanwhile, the National Championship for Country Musician Beginners will be held this afternoon during the Jamboree featuring competitions for children, up to age twelve, in the categories of Buck Dancing, Clogging, Dobro Guitar, Mandolin, Five String Banjo, Flat Top Guitar, and Fiddle.
Preliminaries will be held in each event and then the top three finalists will be brought back to compete for first, second, and third place.
WJLE will broadcast the on-stage entertainment LIVE on AM 1480/ FM 101.7 and LIVE streaming at www.wjle.com.
In addition to music and dancing competitions onstage, the Fiddlers Jamboree also features plenty of delicious foods for sale at local food booths and lots of shade tree picking under tents around the town square.