Withlacoochee Bluegrass Festival

We have come to Nunnellon to join in with the famous Withlacoochee Bluegrass Festival. We have been able to meet up with our friends Don and Sandy, who introduced us to the Log Cabin. Withlacoochee is set in a large Live Oak Hammock, right alongside the Withlacoochee River, which is a crystal clear spring fed river absolutely teeming with bird life. Morning and evening displayed stunning sunrises and sunsets. The weather has been fabulous, clear blues skies, temperature in the 70’s, low humidity, although it has been chilly at night, getting down into the 40’s (!) on our last night. As usual everybody has been very friendly. We have soaked up bluegrass concerts on Friday and Saturday from 1.45 until 10..00 and Sunday afternoon. After the concerts I have wandered round doing a bit of jamming in what they call ‘Campground Pickin’. Some local groups have campfires, where they put three or four bits of tree trunk round and just burn it slowly for the whole weekend, rolling them closer as they burn away. Everyone gathers round them and sings and plays, passing jars of ‘White Lightnin’ corn liquor round. (No I didn’t, I still value my eyesight). Sandy, Don, Sally and I met up and had a couple of jams. On the Saturday night we ate together, then jammed then talked until 2.00 in the morning ! A good job the clocks were going back that night.

We really enjoyed the music and are starting to appreciate the quality of some of the singing. It is difficult to single out any band in particular, but a group called David Peterson and The 1946 Band were so good that we actually bought all their CD’s.

Another band called the Gary Waldrop Band sang with some beautiful harmonies. The headline band was the Grascals, who were also excellent. We found some new friends in Leon and Margaret, who were sat behind us. He is from Melton Mowbray, but his mother ws from Middlesbrough ! and she is from Germany. Hi to both of you if you are reading this blog.

I had to spend time taking photo’s of the sunsets and sunrises, though I don’t feel that I managed to capture the beauty of the place. Because the campground was on the edge of the river some lucky campers were able to have their rig right on the waters edge. When I talked to some of them I discovered that to get the waterside pitches you had to more or less inherit them, one lady I spoke to had been coming when the pitch was used by her mother, she got it when her mother died. Some people have been coming to this festival for more than 20 years. The ground is only used during the 2 festivals it has each year in March and November. Sally and I both agree that this has been the best Bluegrass event we have been to.

A travelling life means that we have to move on and sadly we have had to say goodbye to Don and Sandy on Sunday night. Because we are going to travel north soon it is unlikely that we will ever see them again. They have both been ever so friendly and made us feel very welcome as strangers in a strange land. I know that you both will be reading this at some time, so even if we do not see you again you we will remember you in our hearts for a long time, and who can predict the twists and turns of life that await us. We may yet meet you again, even if it is over the internet.