HARLESTON, W.Va. – West Virginia’s champion old-time fiddle, bluegrass banjo, mandolin players competed for top honors on Saturday, May 27, during the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History’s 46th annual Vandalia Gathering. On Sunday, May 28, old-time banjo, lap dulcimer, flatpick guitar musicians and liars vied for awards.

The winners were:

Youth Old-Time Fiddle (age 15 and under)      
1st place – Liam Farley, Chapmanville
2nd place – Sarah Saffer, Charleston
3rd place – Virginia Vale Cyfers, Huntington
           
Old-Time Fiddle (age 59 and under)
1st place – Tessa Dillon, Greenville
2nd place – Jesse Milnes, Valley Bend
3rd place – Chance McCoy, Greenville
4th place – Emily Miller, Valley Bend
5th place – Liam Farley, Chapmanville
  
Senior Old-Time Fiddle (age 60 and over)
1st place – Gerry Milnes, Elkins
2nd place – Jenny Allinder, Point Pleasant
3rd place – R. Linwood Clark, Walker
4th place – John Longwell, Gandeeville
5th place – Robert Davis, MacArthur

Mandolin (all ages)
1st place – Sawyer Chapman, Charleston
2nd place – Robin Kessinger, St. Albans
3rd place – Dan Kessinger, St. Marys
4th place – Isaac Butcher, Ripley
5th place – D.J. Kessinger, Charles Town
           
Bluegrass Banjo (all ages)
1st place – Jake Eddy, Parkersburg

2nd place – Logan Hoy, Belle
3rd place – Emmett Carper, West Union
4th place – Jeff Richmond, Belle
5th place – Brandon Shuping, Madison

Lap Dulcimer (all ages)
1st place – David O’Dell, Glenville
2nd place – Chance McCoy, Greenville
3rd place – David Haas, Cross Lanes
4th place – Tish Westerman, Beckley

5th Place – Janie Miles, Pliny
           
Old-Time Banjo (59 and under)
1st place – David O’Dell, Glenville

2nd place – Trevor Hammons, Marlinton
3rd place – Chance McCoy, Greenville
4th place – Tessa Dillon, Greenville
5th place – Pete Kosky, Charleston

Senior Old-Time Banjo (age 60 and over)
1st place – Jim Mullins, St. Albans
2nd place – Gerry Milnes, Elkins
3rd place – Paul Gartner, Yawkey

4th place – Kim Johnson, Dunbar

5th place – John Morris, Ivydale

Youth Flatpick Guitar (age 15 and under)
1st place – Isaac Butcher, Ripley

2nd Place – Nathan Schramm, New Martinsville

           
Flatpick Guitar (all ages)
1st place – Jake Eddy, Parkersburg
2nd place – Jakob Thomas, Clendenin
3rd place – Robin Kessinger, St. Albans
4th place – Dan Kessinger, St. Marys
5th place – Isaac Butcher, Ripley

Liars (all ages)
Biggest Liar (1st place and Goldenseal magazine’s Golden Shovel award) – James Froemel, Maidsville

Bigger Liar (2nd place) – David Long, Keyser
Big Liar (3rd place) – Peyton Levi, Barboursville
Youth (age 15 and under, and Goldenseal magazine’s Golden Shovel award) – Zane Wilkinson, Ovapa
           
                  The annual Vandalia Gathering is a free celebration of the traditional arts, music, dance, stories, crafts and foods of West Virginia. The Culture Center and State Capitol Complex grounds host this expanding family-style gathering each year on Memorial Day weekend. The unique blending of ethnic and cultural heritage combines an atmosphere as comfortable as a family reunion with the excitement of a state fair. The statewide folk festival, named for the proposed 14th colony, pays tribute to the state’s ethnic heritage through a variety of exhibitions and programs.

                  Vandalia Gathering is a program of the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History. For more information, contact Andrea Nelson, public information specialist for the department, at (304) 558-0220 or [email protected].