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Mountain Dulcimer Festivals

Mountain dulcimers are stringed instruments with wooden bodies made for strumming or playing with a bow. Varieties include Appalachian, bowed, banjo, bass and baritone mountain dulcimers, all of which produce distinct tones. A hammered dulcimer is an open rack of strings played with a pair of slender hammer sticks. A mountain dulcimer festival includes concert performances, workshops, special accommodations, food and crafts. Experienced traveling performers host workshop lessons for local mountain dulcimer players.
  1. Mountain Dulcimer Week

    • The12th Annual Western Carolina University Mountain Dulcimer Week is held at the Cullowhee, North Carolina campus July 17 to 22, 2011. Concerts and workshops are held on campus by professional dulcimer players. Guest dormitory lodging is available for the event. The cost of $325 per person includes a room, all meals, workshop reservations, a banquet ticket and admission to all concerts. Tickets and workshops are available to participants lodging off campus.

    August Dulcimer Daze

    • The 20th Annual August Dulcimer Daze is to be held in the Green Mountains of southwestern Vermont, August 19 to 21, 2011. All workshops are held at the Mountaineer Inn in West Dover. The main concert will be at the memorial hall in Wilmington. Admission to workshops and the concert is $70 in advance. Concert admission is $13 in advance to see three top professional acts playing mountain dulcimer tunes with their bands.

    Kentucky Music Week

    • The 2011 Kentucky Music Week is held in Bardstown, Kentucky, June 19 to 24. Workshops and concerts are presented at the Old Kentucky Home Middle School and the Quality Inn of Bardstown. Several top name performers known to mountain dulcimer festival audiences will be performing at concerts and giving workshops. A full schedule of workshop sessions is available for $250. Instructor concerts are presented for a $7.50 admission to those not participating in workshops.

    The Gateway Dulcimer Music Festival

    • The Gateway festival for 2011 is held August 11 to14 at Our Lady of the Snows shrine in Belleville, Illinois, just southeast of downtown St. Louis, Missouri. Workshops and concert performances feature five professional mountain dulcimer players. Workshop registration of $45 per day is due by August 1 and includes evening concert admission, open stage participation and a buffet lunch. Concerts are $10 per person for those not enrolled in daily workshops.

Music Festivals

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