The contests at the heart of the Walnut Valley Festival
Since 1972, the Winfield festival has crowned national champions in flat-pick guitar, mandolin, banjo and more.
By Wade Ellison
The Walnut Valley Festival started in September 1972, organized by Stuart Mossman, Joe Muret and Bob Redford. The first one included a two-day flat-picking contest, and the contests are still the heart of the festival.
The National Flat-pick Guitar Championship is the flagship. Others include the National Mandolin Championship, the National Bluegrass Banjo Championship, the national hammered dulcimer and mountain dulcimer championships, the International Autoharp Championship, the International Fingerstyle Guitar Championship and an old-time fiddle contest. Winners come from all over the United States and from abroad.
In 1999 the International Bluegrass Music Association named the festival its first Bluegrass Event of the Year.