Everglades Bluegrass Festival: The Good, The Rain, and The Ugly

When we lived in south Florida we randomly attended the South Florida Bluegrass Association's Sunday festivals.  However, Bill was a dedicated member for many years long before meeting me and has lasting friendships from his experiences.  

Tom capturing the Jammers on stage
during the afternoon rain storm

It just happened that the annual Everglades Bluegrass Festival was the weekend after Virginia Key Grassroots, Feb 27-March 1.  We figured, let's wrap up our Miami experience with a day/night at the festival to visit friends and relax. 

Our home on that overcast morning

It was an overcast day but we weren't going to let the rain stop us so we headed to Greynolds Park for the day and stay the night.  We arrived and set-up the house for the evening and then began visiting friends and meeting new folks. 

Yes, it did rain buckets all afternoon
making a damp evening

 About 11 AM we strolled to the main stage for the first act and the rain arrived... I opted to retreat to the trailer and play my banjo (old-time style).  The rain continued but we ventured out when the Old-Time Jammers began to play on stage.

Old-Time Jammers
We played with them for almost 10 years
Great to see them perform!

Finally in the evening the rain let up for the big name groups and we were fortunate to see our friend Serge perform with the hard core Bluegrass bands.  Serge is a talented Bluegrass and Clawhammer banjo player who studied with Mark Johnson to learn Clawgrass.  Look for him to take Clawgrass to the next level.

Serge Bjokin
Clawgrass demonstration

The evening performances were professional, varied, and memorable.  We returned to our home (trailer) in good spirits only to find someone broke into the trailer through a window and stole our banjos and a guitar.  Now they could have taken the smaller, less expensive instruments but didn't.  They took our prized and frequently played instruments!  

Banjo and Guitar
Old Friends now missing

I have plastered the Internet with notices and can only hope they will be found.  As expected the Miami-Dade Police Department has bigger fish to fry so our case is slowly chugging through the channels mired in the mounds of paperwork.  

But still this is important to us... so here is what we lost (plus accessories)

Guitar: Huss & Dalton, CM Custom SN 721

Banjo: Cedar Mountain, A model, SN 217

Banjo: Cedar Mountain, L1 model, SN 282

If you encounter them... please contact me.

Now, Sunday morning we awoke with heavy hearts but hope, sunshine, and friendship.  Looking at life on the bright side, we enjoyed the time with friends and can now shop for new instruments.

Luz, Marvin, Bill
Marvin and Bill, friends for over 30 years