Downtown to be fiddlin' around during Bob Wills Festival
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Oct. 29—The legacy of the "King of Western Swing" will return to downtown Greenville this coming week during the eighth annual Bob Wills Fiddle Festival and Contest.
In a departure from tradition, the headliner concert, one of the biggest events connected with the festival, will move outside of downtown this year.
The festival is scheduled Friday and Saturday and promises non-stop music and entertainment.
Activities begin at 6 p.m. Friday as fiddle player contestants register at the Texan Theater annex, 2414 Wesley Street.
The Big Ball in G-Town Dinner and Dance will also take place starting at 6 p.m. Friday at the Fletcher Warren Civic Center, 5501 U.S. 69 in Greenville. Headlining the concert will be Bob Wills' Texas Playboys under the direction of Jason Roberts. Catering the dinner will be Fatto a Mano Pizzeria. Dinner will be followed by a free public dance at the Civic Center at 8 p.m.
On Saturday, a free shuttle bus runs all day between the Farmers Market, 2205 Lee Street, and the Texan Theater downtown. In the event of a rain out, activities will shift to the Fletcher Warren Civic Center.
The first rounds of the fiddle contest start at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Texan Theater on Lee Street, with rounds all day and the finals late Saturday. Admission is free.
A holiday vendor fair alongside the Farmers Market starts at 9 a.m. Saturday with the Hunt County Veterans Parade starting at 10 a.m.
Free live western swing music begins at 11 a.m. Saturday on the stage at the Farmers Market, featuring The Western Flyers, Floyd Domino and His All Stars, Hot Club of Cowtown and Jody Nix and the Texas Cowboys.
Food trucks will open for business at 9 a.m. and there will be an adult beverage tent offered by the Greenville Chamber of Commerce opening at 11 a.m.
The Texas Steel Guitar Association will be set up between noon and 2 p.m. at the Downtown Gazebo, 2313 Washington Street.
The day will be capped off with the headliner concert at the Greenville Municipal Auditorium, featuring Lee Roy Parnell, Bob Wills' Texas Playboys under the direction of Jason Roberts, as well as Brennan Leigh.
Wills was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1968 and the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in 1999. Wills received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007 for his significant contributions to American music from the 1930s to the 1960s.
Additional information about Friday and Saturday's events is available at www.bobwillsfest.com
Tickets to the headliner concert are at showtimeatthegma.com
