Pickin’ and grinnin’ at Darrington Bluegrass Fest
Published 12:06 am Sunday, July 22, 2007
DARRINGTON – Fiddles play into the night.
Toes tap out rhythms on mossy ground.
Strangers hold hands and dance together under a canopy of evergreen boughs. Children join in impromptu hula hoop competitions, while their parents strum songs they’ve known since they were kids.
The Darrington Bluegrass Festival is billed as three-day concert. But for many of the hundreds of people who spend a week camping out at the concert grounds year after year, the main attraction is not the featured artists who travel from around the country to perform. What keeps people like Snohomish computer consultant Pete Goodall coming back is the music they make in their campsites after the star performers pack up and head home for the night.
“You get all types of people – rich people, poor people – the common theme is the music,” said Goodall, as his friends played “True Life Blues” outside their RV. “It’s music anyone can relate to. It’s not complicated.”
The twangy music has drawn Terry and Judy Ryan to the festival for more than 15 years. Terry Ryan, a retired truck driver with a guitar and a deep voice, described himself as a “Tar Heel twice removed.” He can’t get enough of the traditional North Carolina music that immigrated to Darrington with its settlers.
“There’s nothing like it,” he said, sitting under the awning of his RV as rain fell. “It’s true American traditional music. It influenced rock ‘n’ roll. It influenced the blues. It’s the last of the true American music genres.”
The Darrington Bluegrass Festival was born out of jam sessions in the community center. What started out as a way for neighbors to get together, pick and pluck, gradually morphed into a monthly event that drew musicians from as far away as Canada and North Carolina. In 1977, the first Darrington Bluegrass Festival was held. It’s been growing ever since.
Scott Strackeljahn grew up at the festivals. The Darrington native remembers dancing in front of the stage as a boy, and later working behind the stage with his mom.
The 38-year-old handyman was back this year, along with his 14-year-old daughter, his mom, his brother, an aunt and five nephews. Wearing black overalls and a wide-brimmed hat, Strackeljahn worked security at the festival.
“I love it,” he said, looking out at the toe-tapping, head bobbing crowd. “All the people are beautiful.”
Reporter Kaitlin Manry: 425-339-3292 or kmanry@heraldnet.com.
Festival today
The Darrington Bluegrass Festival is scheduled to continue today from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Darrington Bluegrass Music Park on Highway 530, three miles west of Darrington. Tickets are available for $15 at the gate.
