I know I have gone to the Cincinnati Appalachian Festival before but I don’t know when. It was first held in 1970 so I could have attended fifty years ago. That seems ridiculous, of course. Surely I’ve attended more recently than that. I believe that I must have but the truth is that I have no clear memories to support that belief and I most definitely have no physical evidence. As crazy as it sounds, it seems at least possible that my visit on Saturday was the first in a half-century or so.
Like any good festival, there were food vendors. There were also crafts and other items offered for sale along with numerous displays with nothing for sale at all.
Demonstrations of various aspects of life in the area during past times were offered. Blacksmithing and weaving were both very important parts of Appalachian life.
Maybe I should have spent more time among the vendors and taken more pictures of the exhibits but I guess I was more interested in the music. Two stages presented a non-stop parade of Bluegrass and other forms of American Roots Music. The only groups I saw on the Up Close & Personal stage were Sherry Stanforth & Tangled Roots and the Forest Hills Bluegrass Band. I had actually seen FHBB earlier on the other stage but did not immediately recognize them because I’d not heard the Dobro earlier.
Here is the Forest Hills Bluegrass Band on the Appalachian Heritage Stage with the fellow at stage-left playing a banjo. The middle picture is of the Wayfarers (check out that bass) with Sammy Adkins and the Sandy Hook Mountain Boys filling out the panel.
I also checked out some of the non-stop action in the dancing tent. That’s the Country Steps Cloggers in red and two different lines of the Kentucky Bluegrass Cloggers in blue.
As much as I enjoyed the bluegrass and cloggers, I believe I spent more time watching the Native American dancers.
A skilled drum circle backed the dancers and often supplied singing and chanting too. When the dancers and drummers took a well-deserved break, a talented flute player (and maker) filled the space wonderfully.
A lot of energy went into the dancing but it was quite apparent that the dancers had also put considerable effort into their authentic dress.
I have many more pictures of the Native American dancing but will move on after these scenes from a dance depicting ritualized combat between two warriors.
Coney Island was the site of the festival. The former amusement park had been operating as a water park until it was sold in December to a group associated with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra for development into a concert venue. The giant Sunlite Pool has already been demolished and I’ve no idea what else will disappear soon. I’m hoping that this entrance where riverboats once delivered patrons to the park — and through which I once walked while on a dinner cruise during 1988’s Tall Stacks — will be spared.
The festival continues today, May 12, 2024, 10:00-6:00.
