01/19/08 — VERNON TOWNSHIP — Fran and Gerry Morgan say they initially came for the music, but return year after year to renew friendships they’ve made.
The Morgans have made the four-hour one-way trek from their home in Princeton, Ontario, Canada, to the annual Winter Blues Bluegrass Festival at the Days Inn Hotel and Conference Center for close to 20 years.
“A lot of us come and just play,” said Fran Morgan, who plays a bass fiddle she’s dubbed “Bentley.” “We’ll find somebody we know and just start to jam.”
She and her husband, Gerry, who plays guitar, mandolin and fiddle, will play in their room or in the hall.
“You can’t find a better group of people,” said Gerry Morgan.
The Morgans were part of a crowd of about 400 on hand Friday night in the main stage area for the 22nd annual Winter Blues Bluegrass Festival, which benefits Hospice of Crawford County Inc. Hospice provides care and quality of life for patients at the final stage of a terminal illness. The festival continues today and Sunday at the hotel.
This weekend, bluegrass musicians are found all over the hotel with bands taking the stage in the main conference room every half-hour while other musicians, like the Morgans, get together to play in rooms, hallways and other areas of the hotel.
“It’s a lot like a campsite. If the door is open, come on in, if it’s not — don’t,” Fran said with a laugh.
The Morgans found out about the winter bluegrass festival in Meadville about 20 years ago when they met one of the organizers — Sandy Mahoney — at another festival one summer in Erie.
The Winter Blues Bluegrass Festival attracts more than two dozen bands that come from Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, West Virginia and even Canada, said Sandy Mahoney, who organizes the event with her husband, Terry.
It also attracts a huge audience. About 2,000 people are expected to attend over the course of Friday, today and Sunday.
“I just love the music,” said John Zeigler Sr. of Conneaut Lake, who was in the audience Friday night with his wife, Emma Lou. “It’s great to hear so many instruments and see so many people enjoy what they’re doing.”
“It’s a fun evening out for us,” said Emma Lou.
The music continues today beginning at 1 p.m. at the Days Inn.
You can go
The Bluegrass Festival continues today at the Days Inn Hotel and Conference Center in Vernon Township today from 1 to 11:30 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to mid-day.
All musicians donate their time. Donations to the festival benefit Hospice of Crawford County Inc.
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