Sense of the hiatus - Augusta

O.K., it seems to be another slow DNA day so I'll take the opportunity to tell you about Augusta, the second half of my recent hiatus.   Unfortunately, my Augusta is a week long music workshop so I didn't have much time to get photos and videos.

Some of you may recall that 'Augusta' is really the Augusta Heritage Center on the campus of Davis & Elkins College in Elkins, WV.   They present a Dulcimer week in April, an Old Time week in October, and five weeks during the summer from July to early August of heritage music, dance and crafts of all kinds, as you can see by the link above.

Here's the schedule for this year's Old Time Week:

This is Halliehurst Mansion, built in 1890 by Senator Stephen B. Elkins as a summer home, and now the scene of many summertime night jams on its extensive porches.
And here are samples of three of them.











The fiddler back in the corner in the last two clips is my fiddle teacher, Dave Bing, a really nice guy and a great teacher.

A couple of the 'Old Masters' afternoon presentations were two of my favorite people, Lester and Linda McCumbers. Here's Lester, an 86 year old fiddler from Calhoun County, playing Yew Piney Mountain.




And here's his wife, Lindy.





You all should come.