The Grand Champion Fiddler of the 38th annual Smithville Fiddler’s Jamboree and Crafts Festival is Gailanne Amundsen of Longwood, Florida.
She won the Berry C. Williams Memorial Award early Sunday morning after the Grand Finale Fiddle-Off between the best Junior and Senior Fiddler.
Amundsen made it to the fiddle off by winning the Junior Fiddling competition and she won the Grand Championship by beating the winner of the Senior Fiddling contest Scott Miller of Hanceville, Alabama.
The two day festival came to a close just after 2:00 a.m Sunday morning.
Rain and lightning forced a delay in the competition during the preliminaries of the square dancing and several hours later, as the weather continued to threaten, a decision was made to resume the festival but to move from the stage to inside of the Smithville Fire Hall, where the fire trucks are usually housed. All the contestants in the finals performed directly in front of a table of judges without microphones, and while there was no television or radio audience, a small crowd gathered in the fire hall to hear them.
All the preliminaries, except for the square dancing competition, were concluded before the rains came and six of the eleven square dance teams scheduled had already performed. The others apparently chose to withdraw during the rain delay, along with two of the teams which had previously competed. There was no finals competition for the remaining square dance teams. They apparently agreed to allow their scores in the preliminaries to determine how they would place.
Winners in the Saturday session of the Fiddler’s Jamboree are as follows:
(Click here to see pictures of the Saturday session of the Fiddlers Jamboree)http://www.wjle.com/node/7878
Junior Fiddlers (Ages 13-39): First Place-Gailanne Amundsen of Longwood, Florida; Second Place- Tori Huntley of Loretto, Tennessee; and Third Place- Austin Vick of Lyles, Tennessee.
Junior Old-Time Appalachian Flatfoot Dance (Ages up to 39): First Place- Chris Stewart of Lyles; Second Place- Matthew Campbell of White Bluff; and Third Place Jacob Campbell of Murfreesboro.
Senior Old-Time Appalachian Flatfoot Dance (Ages 40 & Over): First Place- Jay Bland of Kenneson, Georgia; Second Place- Thomas Maupin of Murfreesboro; and Third Place- Darrin Stryker of Crossville.
Senior Buck Dancing (Ages 40 & Over): First Place- Stanley Reece of Whitleyville; Second Place- Tammy Scruggs of Hartsville; and Third Place- Eileen Stewart of Nashville.
Bluegrass Fiddle (Neil Dudney Award): First Place- Sarah Twilley of Hermitage; Second Place- Chris Gray of St. Joseph, Tennessee; and Third Place- Tori Huntley of Loretto. This award was presented to Twilley by Brandon and Ethan Shaw, grandsons of Neil Dudney.
Senior Clogging (Ages 40 & Over): First Place-Tammy Scruggs of Hartsville; Second Place- Danny Campbell of Murfreesboro; and Third Place- Tommy Jackson of Franklin.
Bluegrass Banjo: First Place- Kurt Stephenson of Dyersburg; Second Place- Jeremy Stephens of Danville, Virginia; and Third Place- Andrew Rigney of Normandy, Tennessee.
Bluegrass Band: First Place- Rigney Family of Normandy; Second Place- Mountain Cove of Signal Mountain; and Third Place- The Ward Family of Columbia.
Senior Fiddlers ( Ages 40 & Over): First Place- Scott Miller of Hanceville, Alabama; Second Place- R.B. Scruggs of Hartsville; and Third Place- Chris Talley Armstrong of New Athens, Illinois (absent during the finals)
Square Dancing: First Place-Tennessee Toe Tappers of Hendersonville; Second Place- Rocky Top Revue of Franklin; and Third Place- Little Texas of Franklin.