Smithville Fiddler's Jamboree Goes Virtual This July

The board members of the Smithville Fiddlers' Jamboree & Crafts Festival voted last week to suspend the 49th Annual Smithville Jamboree & Crafts Festival in Downtown Smithville, Tennessee on July 3-4th, 2020 due to the effects of COVID-19 across the nation, and the world. An online "virtual competition" is in the planning stages to offer contestants the ability to perform and compete for various awards and national titles. WCTE-PBS is considering a televised special during the fourth of July weekend featuring footage across multiple decades to celebrate the great moments during the festival's four decade span.

"In lieu of the live two-day festival, the board is pursuing opportunities of hosting an online competition platform that will allow dancers and musicians the opportunity to upload their performances to compete for multiple national bluegrass awards." said Marketing Director Shan Stout, "We are collaborating with our media partners to see how this can translate into a broadcast or webcast special feature. Due to obvious time constraints, and unknown variables, we do not yet know if this is a real possibility, but are working very hard to make it happen in a very short amount of time. If anyone in the community has expertise in online competition platforms, or would like to help with this special project, please reach out to us via our FaceBook page.'

"It was a very difficult decision that we do not take lightly," said President & Coordinator Sam Stout, "The health and well-being of our community is our first priority, and this has made next year's 50th celebration even more important in our eyes. I look forward to coming together again in 2021 to celebrate this wonderful milestone with all of the talented musicians, dancers, crafters, vendors and fans that have kept this festival alive for so long. We hope that people go online in the coming months to see how they can compete and perform. We look forward to seeing all the submissions, even if we can't all be together on the courthouse square this year."

For more information, contestant rules, and the most recent updates concerning the "Virtual Jamboree Competition", follow their FaceBook page: Smithville Fiddlers Jamboree, or visit their website at: www.smithvillejamboree.com.