By Evan Belanger
The sweet sounds of bluegrass music were a hit with local good Samaritans at Sportsman Lake Park Saturday.
For most of they day, bluegrass musicians from across the state took the stage, “pickin’” for a local charity. The event was the first-ever Pickin’ at the Park music festival.
Proceeds from the festival were donated to Cullman Caring for Kids, a nonprofit group that sponsors the local food bank and works to prevent child abuse and neglect in the Cullman area.
“We’re very excited about this event in particular,” said CCK director Javon Daniels. “Especially since it is going to be an annual event.”
According to Daniels, much of CCK’s funding is a direct result of fund-raising events like Pickin’ at the Park.
According to organizer Jim Blankenship, the music festival will be an annual event. He said he will retain some of the funds from the festival and use them to hire some “big-name bands” in the future.
“I’ve played music for years, and I have always thought Sportsman Lake would be a great place to have a music festival,” Blankenship said. “Eventually, I just went ahead and organized one myself.”
Musicians performing Saturday, including the local band Liberty Junction, were a hit with audience members.
“Those Nashville boys ain’t got nothin’ on these guys,” said Wilburn Scott as Liberty Junction performed. “This is about as good a playing as I’ve ever seen.”
