Pasture Pickin' organizers pass gathering to new director
<p>Annie Erickson and Gary Kent of Burlington, Wash., Rich and Carol Gregg of Lewiston, Wash. and Mark and Teri Rex of Newport, Wash. playing classic bluegrass music on Snyder’s Field Wednesday afternoon. (Bethany Rolfson/The Western News)</p>
<p>Gary Kent from Burlington, Wash. and Rich Gregg from Lewiston, Wash. playing on Wednesday afternoon at the Pasture Pickin'. (Bethany Rolfson/The Western News)</p>
Week-long bluegrass event lives on after 20 years
After over 20 years, the hosts of Pasture Pickin’, a twice-a-year, week-long bluegrass gathering, are passing on the torch.
Up Pipe Creek Road, on the campground known as Snyder’s Field, is where the bluegrass gathering would be held in May and August. On the far end of the field sits a wood stage decorated with flags. Next to the campground sits a log cabin, home to husband and wife of 10 years Dale and Dorothy Berg.
From Aug. 14-21, musicians and bluegrass fans gather in Snyder’s Field to play and enjoy bluegrass music. The music usually started in the evening, but musicians would play all day during the gathering, including a group of musicians from Washington and Idaho that sat around and played music with each other. The three couples, led by Gary Kent, followed along with each other during the songs and taught new songs to each other.
Twice a year for 23 years, the Bergs, along with cousins Steve and Rod Snyder, hosted the Pasture Pickin’ gathering. The gathering has never charged admission and is always open to the public.
Dale, who plays string instruments such as banjo, guitar, mandolin and the doboro, said that he and his wife decided to retire from hosting the Pasture Pickin’ last year. Dale is going to be 85 years old next month, and Dorothy is going to be 77 years old in December.
It all started in 1992, when Dale and Dorothy went to a bluegrass festival in Sandpoint, Idaho.
While they were there, Dorothy turned to Dale and said, “Why can’t we do this?”
In the following year of 1993, they started the Pasture Pickin’ gathering, not knowing it would be such a success in the coming years. According to Dale, their average attendance over the years was 150 musicians and listeners, and about 10 years ago they hit their record-breaking number of guests at 194.
“The field was so packed you could barely walk through it,” Dale said.
They used to attract guests from all over the Northwest and about one-third of the visitors are from Canada. Some campers have even come all the way from Virginia, Texas and other parts of the South.
In recent years, attendance has gone down and Dale said that’s due to bluegrass being less popular among younger people. This year, Dale estimated around 50 people came through and camped.
According to Dale, Dave Blackburn, banjo player and owner of the River Bend Restaurant, will take over the gathering next year. Although Dale said he’s going to miss hosting the Pasture Pickin’ gathering, he said he hopes to visit Blackburn’s gathering next year. He also said that he’s excited to have more free time during the summers, because the gathering used to keep him busy during the season.
“It’s a lot of work to put this on,” Dale said.
The Pasture Pickin’ will conclude on Sunday morning, with an assembly of Christian bluegrass music on the stage at 10 a.m., hosted by Rod Snyder.
Reporter Bethany Rolfson may be reached at 293-4124 or by email at Reporter@TheWesternNews.com.