The crowd kicked back and relaxed to the music of Whiskey Deaf Saturday at the 18th annual Blue Water Bluegrass Festival at Medical Lake's Waterfront Park last weekend;
The 18th annual Blue Waters, Bluegrass Festival was another hit this year, although not as well-attended as previous years, something organizers blamed on a wet weather forecast that never materialized - at least in Medical Lake's Waterfront Park.
"We literally had no rain," festival president Nick Burgis said. "There was one instance when I had to cover some equipment for a minute."
Rain in Spokane was at times a deluge, but despite being surrounded by heavy clouds, the festival stayed dry all weekend.
Although festival organizers had yet to get a solid number of festival attendees for the weekend-long event, Burgis estimated a "ball park" figure of about 500 people who came to sit beneath the pines to bob heads and feet, laugh and listen to world class bluegrass.
There were 300 pre-sale tickets sold, Burgis said.
He noted that workshop sessions where festival attendees had the opportunity to ask master musicians anything, from how to hold an instrument to how to do vibrato was a rare one.
"I think that's really unique to literally be on the same park bench or picnic table with these master musicians and asking those questions," Burgis said. "The bluegrass community really came together once again."
The park's camping area was packed with RVs of all types and sizes, with fiddle, banjo and guitars sounds often wafting through the air.
There were 75 volunteers who donated their time to enjoy what was a fairly sedate all-age crowd.
Lee Hughes can be reached at [email protected].
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