Fiddlefest and Cane Boil at Gainesville’s Morningside Nature Center, November 28, 2015

Posted on by Tommy Thompson

syrup

This event is held each year the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and combines traditions of giving thanks and fall harvest with live fiddle, banjo and string-band music, which were major influences on American entertainment for more than 150 years. Bring your holiday guests, friends and family out to Morningside’s beautiful Living History Farm to experience the making and bottling of sugar cane syrup, biscuits hot from the wood cookstove, live roots music, horse-drawn wagon rides and living history interpreters and demonstrators bringing a country day in 1870 to life.

fiddle

The Longleaf Pine Youth Fiddle Contest portion of the Cane Boil is for musicians 18-years-old and younger who may enter in one of three age group divisions:

  • Sprouts Division (beginners 7-years-old or younger)
  • Seedlings Division (8- to 12-years-old)
  • Saplings Division (advanced players or those 13- to 18-years-old)

Contestants may register online at http://www.friendsofnatureparks.org between now and Wednesday, Nov. 26 (recommended), or may register on-site the morning of Nov. 28 from 9-10 a.m. Preregistered contestants should also check-in during this time. The contest starts at 10 a.m., concluding with judging and presentation of prizes, awarded to first, second, third place winners and runners-up in each of the three divisions. Traditional music played by talented, local musicians will follow all afternoon.

Admission $3 for Adults, $2 for Children (3-12), free for children less than 3 years. Admission fees are waived for contestants, their family members and an accompanist.

For registration and complete rules, and more information about judging and prizes visit http://www.friendsofnatureparks.org or call 352-334-3326.

Morningside Nature Center is located at 3540 E. University Ave., approximately three miles east of downtown Gainesville.

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