A mélange of fiddles, banjos and voices from the annual Blue Waters Bluegrass Festival will soon float across the surface of Medical Lake.
For 22 years, this festival of music has brought people together.
“It’s a really great time and the weather is usually very nice,” said Joe Nuess, secretary of the Blue Waters Bluegrass Association.
Other activities include performances by seven different bluegrass bands, workshops with experienced musicians, and a youth camp where participants are taught a variety of bluegrass songs.
The celebrations begin on Friday and end on Sunday.
The performances begin on Friday at 4 p.m. with a two-hour open mic. Anyone can register to appear on stage.
“I would definitely encourage people to go, it’s really fun. Great things happen there,” said Nick Burgis, president of the Blue Waters Bluegrass Festival Association.
During the festival, several workshops will take place, including guitar, mandolin, violin and songwriting. One workshop will offer the opportunity to meet the members of New Dangerfield, a band that often plays in the jazz bars of New Orleans and will soon be on the stage at Blue Waters.
Seven other groups will share the stage: Full Cord, the Jacob Jolliff Band, Rock Ridge, True North Duo, Floating Crowbar, Dry & Dusty and Monroe Bridge.
“Some of them have won awards from national committees and also at really prestigious bluegrass festivals in recent years, so the musical level is just really high,” said Burgis.
In addition, visitors to the festival also have the opportunity to meet the musicians personally if they wish.
“The bands are very approachable after their performance and sign autographs, talk to people and things like that,” said Nuess.
Another activity of the festival, the Blue Waters Youth Camp, also called Blue Camp, is a two-day music workshop for everyone under 21.
The cost of the camp is $40.
All participants learn from experienced bluegrass musicians and perform on stage on Saturday after a day of practice.
In addition to the performance at Blue Camp on Saturday, there will also be a special tribute set “from changing musicians” that evening, said Burgis.
In recent years, this tribute has highlighted a particular person who has had a major influence on the history of bluegrass.
“It’s really special to own this one,” Burgis said.
But this year the focus is on several early bluegrass musicians.
“It goes back to a group of early guys and I think this year it focuses on a group of black musicians who used to play it,” Nuess said.
While listening to the various musical performances, visitors can eat, purchase art or even treat themselves to a massage from one of the numerous stalls set up outside the festival grounds.
Food options will include coffee, hot dogs and some candy, Burgis said.
Another provider that the festival association is pleased to welcome is Feast World Kitchen.
“There will be a changing menu, different dishes on all three days,” said Burgis.
Since the stands are set up outside the festival grounds, they are accessible to everyone.
Waterfront Park, where the festival is held every summer, is usually full of people who aren’t even attending the festival, Nuess said.
“There are people out there playing around, swimming and all that stuff while the festival is going on… There is no charge to enter the park. There is a charge to enter the festival,” Nuess explained.
Ticket prices vary: a Friday day pass costs $33, Saturday $48 and Sunday $38. Children under 12 are admitted free with a parent or guardian. An advance weekend pass, which provides access to the festival on all three days, is available for $64.
It is common for festival-goers to purchase the weekend pass in advance if they plan to camp at one of the festival’s campsites, Nuess said.
Blue Waters offers a tent site and a dry RV site, where Burgis says it’s “much ado about nothing.” A pass for both sites costs $58 and is valid for the entire weekend.
“The people in the RVs all gather around an RV or something and just play music,” Nuess said. “They play all day, all night. I mean, people get up at 2 a.m.; they sing, they play.”
Unfortunately, parts of the RV campsite were destroyed in the fires in the region last year.
“There were a lot of trees in this area, most of which have now burned down. So it’s very open, which makes the landscape look very different,” Burgis said.
Nuess had an optimistic perspective.
“The whole area will still be open, and we may even have a few extra spots because some trees have burned down.”
Fortunately, the area where the festival site is being built was spared from the fires.
Nuess said they were “lucky in that regard.”
“Everything is burned down, and that’s kind of ugly, but the park itself is beautiful,” Nuess said.
Because the festival has been a popular event in Medical Lake for so long, Burgis believes participating will be an uplifting experience for local residents.
“We certainly hope that the community supports the festival and that this will boost their morale,” Burgis said.
Although many festival-goers are residents of Medical Lake, people come from all over.
“We’re getting people from out of state, from Canada,” Nuess said.
The Blue Waters Bluegrass Festival Association invests in this festival all year long and meets once a month to organize it.
“It was a lot of work for people, but we really enjoyed it and the final product is really fantastic,” Burgis said. “We’re really excited to see everyone out there.”
