Bluegrass for the spirit

The Ward Family, composed of seven sisters from Columbia, kicked off the Saturday morning schedule at the Shelbyville Bluegrass Gospel Festival. (T-G Photo by John I. Carney) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

Shelbyville Bluegrass Gospel Festival, which organizers plan to make an annual event, took place Friday and Saturday at H.V. Griffin Park, drawing bluegrass gospel performers from as far away as Florida and Michigan.

The event was hosted by the CrossPoint String Band from Shelbyville, which had hosted a similar festival in Lewisburg the past two years before deciding to move it here. Glenn Kosiorek, the band's founder, praised Sylvia Pinson and the Shelbyville Parks and Recreation staff for their hospitality.

"I'm thrilled this is here in our home town," said Kosiorek.

Kosiorek said that the crowd Friday night, in some unseasonably chilly temperatures, was about 150, but he was expecting a larger crowd during the Saturday sunshine. Vehicles filed into the park complex as the event kicked off Saturday morning.

Kosiorek said a few words of welcome before turning the microphone over to emcee Keith Rowell of Milton, Fla., who introduced the day's first performers, the Ward Family from Columbia. This band is composed of seven sisters, the daughter of a pastor, Russell Ward.

Kosiorek hopes that the event will continue to grow in its new home.

"We're looking forward to making this the number two event in Shelbyville," he joked, an unspoken reference to the Celebration.

The other participating bands were the Rowell Family from Milton, Fla.; the Balos Family from Buchanan, Mich.; and the Golden Valley Crusaders from Golden Valley, N.C.