White Top Folk Festival
| White Top Folk Festival | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Folk, Old-time |
| Dates | August |
| Location(s) | Whitetop Mountain |
| Years active | 1931-1936, 1938, 1939 |
| Founded by | Annabel Buchanan, John Blakemore, John Powell |
The White Top Folk Festival was a folk festival held on Whitetop Mountain in Grayson County, Virginia from 1931 to 1939. Established by Annabel Morris Buchanan, John Blakemore, and classical musician John Powell, it featured Appalachian folk music. At its height, the festival hosted First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt in 1933. The festival was not held in 1937, and was canceled in 1940 due to flooding. It did not resume again.
The idea for the festival came to John Blakemore after a local musician suggested holding a Fourth of July fiddler's contest on Whitetop Mountain. Blakemore mentioned it to his cousin, John Buchanan, who told his wife, Annabel. Annabel Buchanan, a talented musician and music teacher, had been putting on small music programs around Marion, Virginia, for several years. She discussed the idea with her friend, classical composer John Powell. Blakemore, Buchanan, and Powell began planning for a music festival that included more than the original idea of a fiddler's contest. They decided that they would consider only "old time" music and disallowed "modern songs, tunes, or dances." The first festival was scheduled for August 15, 1931.
The inaugural White Top Folk Festival drew around 3,000 spectators and hosted around three dozen musicians and groups. The musicians competed for monetary prizes, which were especially attractive during the Depression days. The 1932 festival was similar in format but slightly larger and stretched over two days. It included handicraft exhibits, square dances, and a winner's program. Nearly 4,000 people attended to watch over 75 individual and group performers.
In 1933, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt wrote to Buchanan expressing interest in attending the festival. Blakemore, who was politically powerful in the area, had the roads to the festival expanded in anticipation of the crowds Roosevelt's visit would draw. More than 12,000 people attended the festival in 1933.
The festival grew increasingly elaborate and culturally significant, with attendance and attention from academic folklorists, musicologists, and journalists. By 1936, a 10-day White Top Folk Conference was held at Marion College before the festival opening.
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