"You know, time stops when you pick!"
Chester MacMillan, Fiddle Tunes 2008

Of the many great quotes that surfaced during Fiddle Tunes 2008, this is perhaps my favorite.

Chester hit the nail on the head with this one! We are all chained to time in various ways, worrying about schedules, trying to make deadlines, wishing we were older or younger, resisting the imposition of time or succumbing to it, often missing the things that matter while focusing on the moments in which they are about to happen or just happened, ignoring the essential reality that each moment itself exists outside of time, in a permanent ever-happening now.

Music is an instant ticket to the present, to a place where time, as Chester says, simply stops. Get out your fiddle and wave it goodbye. You can always invite it back on your own terms when you're good and ready. And it will always serve you, rather than you serving it, if you allow music a central place in your life.

This year at Fiddle Tunes we saw the illusion of time exposed. The 80 - 90 year old set played some of the most spirited music of the week while the award for least sleep/most music, including full tuition for next year, went to 13-year-old fiddler Tatiana Hargreaves, whose playing comes from a deep well that can only be described as timeless.

Fiddle Tunes founder Bertram Levy described the phenomenon as older players (such as Earl Murphy, 91, and Harold Luce, 89) reaching towards modernity while younger players (such as De Temps Antan and The Pine Leaf Boys) reached towards antiquity. There were bridges being built everywhere and crossings happening at all hours of the day and night. We all made it to the same place, regardless.

Reluctantly, I will make one mention of actual time. The last jam session I know of started at 6:30 AM on Sunday morning (by players for whom it was still Saturday night) and went for about an hour or so before everyone involved went to the beach. During this session a person showed up whom several people called "the best dancer I've ever seen."

I don't know who he was. It remains a mystery, a wonderful mystery that on the last day of the event a person would show up and dance for an hour that has burned itself into the minds of those present as the pinnacle of one means of expression.

The memories of those moments, when forces converge and timeless experiences surface, will still be there when we're 90, and may inspire us then, like Earl and Harold, to get out the fiddle and give it another good lash. And, if things keep going like they did at Fiddle Tunes 2008, there'll be quite a few members of 13-year-old set there to hear it.

Somewhere beyond or behind all musical borders lies a creative terrain where bluegrass, jazz, classical, pop, and various world musics mingle, played by musicians who care more for inspiration than they do for genre.

Our Contemporary Stringband Workshop is designed to take you there, and there is no better guide than Darol Anger, along with his fellow faculty members Scott Nygaard, Tristan Clarridge, and Matt Flinner.

Visit our CSW page for complete information on this premium experience taking place November 13-16, 2008 here at Fort Worden State Park.

We hope you can join us for amazing performances featuring musicians and music from across the continent and beyond.

Complete program schedules and ticket information are available on our 2008 performance page.

Hello there. My name is Kristina and I spent the afternoon walking around to the various Fiddle Tunes workshops, taking in all the sights and sounds.  This is my fifth year coming to Fiddle Tunes and what always impresses me is that there are people of all ages here - truly a family friendly festival.  This afternoon was a series of workshops called Band Labs where participants have the opportunity to learn and perform group pieces. Below are a few of the photos from this afternoon.   Hope to see you at the concerts this weekend!

[The Pine Leaf Boys in onstage performance]

Led by the incomparable Wilson Savoy, the Pine Leaf Boys--a Cajun/Creole band that is rising so fast they're scorching--will be leading a Cajun dance on Friday, July 4, at 7:30 pm at the Fort Worden Mule Barn Tent. Yes, there will be a bonfire and, yes, gumbo'll be for sale onsite. Tickets are ten bucks; youth eighteen and under get in free.

Information and tickets for this--and all--weekend Festival of American Fiddle Tunes shows are available by visiting our Fiddle Tunes performance page. (Watch for a Santa Claus appearance in this video at 2:48.)

We'll post updates there during the Festival itself, as well as on our main site (www.centrum.org/fiddle) and our Facebook page, As with most good things, though, all of this community stuff works best when you all take it over.

So the invitation is out there. Please, be our Fiddle Tunes Myspace friend, won't you? Or join our Facebook. We look forward to seeing, hearing, learning from you!

Centrum has unveiled the lineup for its popular “Free Fridays at the Fort” series, showcasing jazz, blues and fiddle tunes performers, among many others, at the lawn in front of the Fort Worden Commons.

Seating is provided, local and sustainable food is available, and all the entertainment is free. All concerts start at noon. The June 27 event is rain or shine; all others are weather-dependent. 

• June 27: Participant performances from the Port Townsend Chamber Music Festival (held at Wheeler Theater).
• July 4: No presentation. Join audience members at the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes show at 1:30 pm.
• July 11: Dobro Showcase with George Rezendes and Dave Meis.
• July 18: Port Townsend Writers’ Conference reading with Brandon Schrand.
• July 27: Participant performances from Jazz Port Townsend.
• August 1: Jam Session from the Port Townsend Country Blues Festival.
• August 8: Dance/Movement Demonstration from Madrona MindBody Institute

Free Fridays at the Fort are sponsored by the Port Townsend/Jefferson County Leader.