PORT TOWNSEND — More than 750 people came together on Independence Day for a varied and eclectic collection of holiday entertainment staged at Fort Worden State Park.
In addition to Centrum’s Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, the park hosted a bevy of activities for children on the Fort Worden Commons lawn, a Fourth of July wedding, a community feast of barbecued chicken, soda and beer and — after dusk — an elevated view of fireworks from the bluffs.
Some people came to the beach just to enjoy the sunshine.
But above all the games, picnic food and sunny weather, it was the fiddles that set the tone for the celebration of American Independence.
Heard almost anywhere in the park were the sounds of bows drawn across fiddle strings, the twang of banjos and the thumping of drums.
“It’s true to say that this is real American music,” said John McElwee, director of Centrum.
“It’s actually all these different cultures coming together to make all these different sounds, but that is what makes up America.
“The different cultures are the same with us as they are with the music.”
Fiddles and banjos
The festival featured the Appalachian sound of southern fiddles and banjos by Riley Baugus, the more upbeat fiddling of Mexican fiddler Jose Moreno and the intensity of Irish fiddle music by The Kane Sisters.
“But that’s American music,” said Dirk Powell, artistic director of the festival.”
“We took these European and African and Native American sounds and instruments, and we fused them into one — into what you hear right now — into the best of everything.
“And that’s American music.”
Powell said the fiddle is the centerpiece of the festival, thanks to its versatility. Smaller than a guitar or a banjo, the fiddle was easy to carry, and often traveled across seas or continents.
“It’s a European instrument,” Powell said.
“It came overseas with immigrants on boats, and then continued across the country in wagons.
“The fiddle is a powerful instrument, as it told the story of America in many ways during that time.”
The combination of the banjo, an African influence, and quick, heavy drumming influenced by Native Americans formed this American sound, Powell said.
Riley Baugus agreed.
Claiming the title of Traditional Musician from the Blue Ridge Mountains of the southern Appalachians, Baugus is a skilled fiddler and banjo player.
“It’s incredibly appropriate, it’s the best, really, to be playing this music on the Fourth of July,” Baugus said.
“What we play, a lot of it, is from the 1860s, 1850s and 1840s.
“This music was from Andrew Jackson’s administration, and it still gets people up from their seats dancing and still gets the crying.”
Baugus hails from the hills of Walker County, N.C.
He’s played the fiddle since he was 10 years old. Baugus said the history of musical fusion from multiple cultures isn’t just a theory to him. It’s a fact.
“That’s how I grew up,” Baugus said.
“We were white, we were black, we were Native American, but we were all poor.
Sharing
“When you share your food, you end up with a party. When you have a party, you end up with music. When you all play your music, it grows together and it sounds like this.”
Baugus drew his bow rapidly over his fiddle strings and let lose an Appalachian tune he learned in his youth. By the time he’s done, a small crowd has gathered.
“This is the perfect place to do this,” he said, “the perfect day to play real music.”
Centrum has two more summer festivals centering around American roots music.
The Jazz Festival runs July 19-26.
The Blues Festival runs July 26-Aug. 2.
More information is available online at www.centrum.org/.
To learn more about Riley Baugus, visit his Web site at www.rileybaugus.com/.
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Reporter Erik Hidle can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at erik.hidle@peninsuladailynews.com.
