Monday, May 19, 2014

83rd Annual Athens Old Fiddlers Reunion May 31

The 83rd annual Old Fiddlers Contest and Reunion is known nationwide, and as far as we know it, is the oldest such contest that has run continuously year after year.
The big attraction is the Fiddlers Contest, which is broken down into 5 divisions, Senior Ages 66 & over, Adult Ages 30-65, Young Adult Ages 19-29, Youth Ages 18 & Under and the Open Division which is All Ages. There will be a playoff between the 1st place winners of each of the five divisions. This will be the Grand Champion and this person will get a Grand Prize of $600, in addition to the $200 which he or she has already won by being the 1st place winner of his/her division.
At 6 p.m., there will be an Acoustic Guitar Picking Competition for all ages. The Fiddlers Contest will begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday morning, May 31st and will run throughout the day. Beginning at 8 p.m., there will be a country western band with professional musicians playing until Midnight for the famous Street Dance.
On Friday night, before the Fiddlers Contest, a Jam Session will take place on the courthouse lawn at 7 p.m. There will be concession stands along the sidewalks, and a carnival will be set up just off the Courthouse Square.
Schedule: Saturday, May 31
9 a.m. Invocation, Welcome Address, Western Swing Band
10 a.m. Seniors 66 and Over Contest
11 a.m. Adult Ages 30-65 Contest
12 noon Western Swing Band
1:30 p.m. Adult Ages 30-65 Contest Continued
2 p.m. Young Adult Ages 19-29 Contest
3 p.m. Youth Ages 18 & Under Contest
4 p.m. Open Division, All Ages Contest
5 p.m. Grand Champion Playoff
6 p.m. Acoustic Guitar Picking Contest
8 p.m.-12 Midnight Street Dance
For more information about the event, please click here.

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Athens Mayor Jerry Don Vaught Signs Proclamation Declaring Tourism Week

Athens Mayor Jerry Don Vaught signed the proclamation declaring Tourism Week May 3-11, 2014. The travel industry is one of Texas' largest industries with visitor spending generating $65 billion and directly supporting 568,000 jobs with earnings of $18.9 billion. Henderson County generated $125.5 million in visitor spending and supported 500 jobs with earnings of $19.5 million. National Tourism Week is annually recognized the first full week in May, a tradition first celebrated in 1984. Pictured from left to right are Pam Burton, City Administrator; Sherri Skeeters, Tourism Coordinator, showing the two-page ad promoting Athens that is in this month's issue of Texas Monthly; Mayor Jerry Don Vaught; and Lisa Fields, General Manager at Best Western Plus Royal Mountain Inn & Suites.