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The Bluegrass Classic Attracts Thousands to Columbus WOSU's Amy Juravich reports on The 24th annual “Musicians Against Childhood Cancer – Bluegrass Classic” which began Wednesday, July 23 and concludes Saturday night, July 26.
by Amy Juravich
Hundreds of RVs and thousands of people gather for 4 days in July each year. They come wearing their "got grass" t-shirts and with bumper stickers on their cars that say – "my grass is blue."
They come from across Ohio and across the country and converge at a shady grove just outside of Columbus to hear one thing…
Bluegrass music…
The 24th annual Bluegrass Classic began Wednesday afternoon and concludes Saturday night. All the proceeds benefit the organization "Musicians Against Childhood Cancer." This important cause is close to the heart of event director Darrel Adkins.
"The reason why we chose St. Jude's Children's Hospital is my daughter Amanda Lynn had a brain tumor and we ended up at St. Jude Children's Hospital and lived there for 8 months and unfortunately she didn't beat that terrible disease. So we are donating money to try and find a cure for that," Adkins says.
The group has donated more than 432-thousand dollars to the Memphis, Tennessee hospital since the year 2000 and Adkins hopes to surpass the half million dollar mark this year.
More than 40 artists are donating their time and talent to this year's festival.
"Most everybody that comes here probably has children and it's a sad thing, it's an awful thing when a young person is afflicted with cancer of any kind and this is a great cause," says musician Russell Moore
Moore and his group Russell Moore and IIIrd Tyme Out has been a festival headliner for several years.
Fans of Russell Moore, The James King Band, Larry Cordle , The Grascals and bluegrass music in general come from far and wide for this event.
"It's going to be great, I can only stay for 3 of the 4 days and I'm sorry I can't stay for the 4th day, so I'll miss seeing some of the people on the last day," says Sherri Huffman.
First time festival attendee, Huffman, traveled from Los Alamos, New Mexico to hear live bluegrass. She says she's a big fan of the music and the artist line-up was too good for her to pass up.
Jeff Williamson of Williamstown, West Virginia agrees. This is his third time at the Columbus event.
"This is one of the largest ones in the country, so that's why we come here because all of the top bands are here, so that's why we come to this festival," Williamson says.
"The biggest majority of our people camp; they travel from Connecticut to Wisconsin. We've sold tickets to Colorado, Florida, Arizona and they're all camping. They are spending their hard earned dollars for gasoline to come enjoy something they really love," says Darrel Adkins.
But you don't have to camp out all weekend. The festival offers day passes as well.
And if you're thinking about stopping by Hoover Y-Park over the next 3 days musician, Russell Moore has some advice for you… Stop thinking and start moving…
"If you are asking if you should drive out here. The answer is a definite yes. Get in your vehicle and get over here if you have to walk. You need to be here for this. This is a once a year thing and it's very worthwhile. And you're not going to find any better music or be treated better than what you're going to be treated here and hear on the stage over the next several days," says Moore.
For WOSU Radio, I'm Amy Juravich.
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"The Musicians Against Childhood Cancer, Bluegrass Classic" is going on now through Saturday night.
Music heard in this piece includes The James King Band, Russell Moore and the IIIrd Tyme Out, and The Grascals.
You can find more information on the event at:
www.bluegrassclassic.com
