Richmond Folk Festival: Hot dogs, chaos, music make for a winning day

Can't wait until next year.

That was the hands-up consensus at the Richmond Times-Dispatch Virginia Folklife Stage, where the standing-room-only audience cheered that they'd be back for the eighth Richmond Folk Festival in 2012.

Venture Richmond's amazing seven-year run proved once again Richmond excels at putting on the three-day extravaganza that's built a national reputation for its full range of planning, promotion, sponsorships, community engagement and, yes, memorable shows.

But what happens behind the scenes can be as entertaining as the music on the various stages. As a sponsor announcer, I had the privilege of working with an outstanding crew headlined by state folklorist Jon Lohman, who seamlessly wove together a string of contests that started with hot dogs and ended with a winners' jam session.

In between, chaos lurked.

What follows is a five-hour tick-tock on the Sunday program that was as much improvisation as it was well-oiled programming.

11:29 a.m.: I find a parking spot downtown as the volunteer army returns for an encore. Early arrivers also make their way down the Fifth Street hill. Day three starts in 31 minutes. Another picture-perfect day.

11: 40: The first event gets ready. In the nearby artists' tent, Lohman reviews the rules with the five contestants ready to battle over who can eat the most hot dogs in 15 minutes. One tries to psyche out his competition with tales of how he's done this with steak, wild wings and Mexican food. The four judges arrive: Miss United States, a star quarterback, Uncle Sam and Santa Claus.

Noon: Show time. Hot-dog king Joey Mirabile joins Lohman, the five combatants, the judges and three musicians calling themselves the "Weinermatics" on stage. Boxes of Joey's hot dogs, topped with chili, onions and mustard, stand ready. As do empty white buckets, just in case. "We've had two reactions to the hot-dog contest," Lohman tells the hearty crowd. "Repulsed. And, hey, that's pretty cool."

12:15 p.m.: The chewing begins. Judges offer running commentary. Santa looks hungry and downs two dogs. Miss United States reveals she once won a watermelon-eating contest. Mirabile shows off seasonal hot dog humor. "What do you call a hot dog with nothing in it?" he asks. "A hollow-weenie."

One by one the eaters give up. The runner-up hurries off stage. We'll leave it at that. Bobby Stultz, a walk-on from Mechanicsville, wins after making 11 dogs disappear. His strategy? "Keep plugging, keep chugging." He also reveals that entering an eating contest was on his "bucket list" of things to do in life. Lohman notes the interesting choice of words. Stultz puts on a gold crown and lumbers off with the $100 prize.

12:55: Stage crew quickly cleans up and prepares for the fiddler workshop. What a contrast.

1:07: Interpreter Greg Kimball handles this set, which explains the origins of the old-time fiddle contests in Virginia. The first one, we're told, dates to 1736 in Hanover County. Long-time musicians Lovell Coleman and Jimmie Delozier explain how they got started. Delozier says his first fiddle was a cigar box, a stick and strings. They're joined by Danny Knicely, who fills in for Odell "Speedy" Tolliver, who was unable to make it to Richmond.

1:20: After an initial round of tunes, Kimball asks whether it was true the early contests were basically rigged. Coleman recalls when he was about 14 he finished second in a competition, losing to the sponsor's champion. Did you get a prize? Kimball wondered. The slow-talking, fast-playing Coleman paused. "Well, I didn't want to fight this fiddler, too."

1:40: Coleman, Delozier and Knicely jam to finish the program. The crowd celebrates with a standing ovation. Delozier exits and is called over to a young fan. He signs the CD, which is on sale at the festival.

1:50: Attention turns to the Caribbean Carnival Costume Contest, which will be held outside in historic Tredegar plaza. Lohman has disappeared.

2:01: People are wondering where they should go to see the costumes. Lohman arrives in a golf cart outside the carnival booth across the way in the Virginia Folklife Area. He's there to load up a sound system so he can emcee the parade, which should have started a minute ago. With his wife, Tori Talbot, carving a path through the crowd, Lohman somehow manages not to run over anyone in his dash back to the plaza.

2:18: The microphone is live. "Where's Earl?" Lohman barks.

2:20: A large crowd pushes back to create a sun-splashed circle so the four colorful costumes can roll in and simulate a real street carnival. Each costume on wheels has been created over six months by Earl Blake of Temple, Md. The first, "Let Your Beauty Shine," is 18 feet wide, 18 feet tall and 20 feet long. The third and fourth productions, "Butterfly on the Flower" and "Faces of Africa," are powered by Blake's daughter and wife.

2:35: Lohman asks Blake what would happen if it was a rainy day. Blake says he'd only worry about the feathers getting wet. All of the costumes are winners. The Caribbean music cranks up to full blast. Lohman yells that it's back to the tent for the Old-Time Fiddler Contest.

2:50: Time to get real serious. Lohman huddles with the nine contestants vying to win a coveted fiddle crafted by Richmonder Don Leister. Lohman goes over the rules. The two judges, who use a 50-point scorecard and five quality categories, will be backstage listening and viewing a monitor that will display only the fiddle. At the last minute a 10th player unexpectedly shows up. Lohman frowns, but adds her to the lineup. She eventually wins third place.

3:03: On stage, Lohman calls up emcee Harold Mitchell, the voice of the Galax Fiddler's Convention over the past 40 years. The tent is packed.

3:06: Leister brings up the grand-prize violin, a year-old instrument made of American maple and Swiss Alps spruce. It's displayed on center stage

3:10: The competition begins. The first fiddler is a 10-year-old. He toe-taps through his tune. The crowd roars approval.

3:25: Half-way point. It's not going to be easy for the judges. The applause gets louder and louder. Mitchell puts in a plug for the Blue Ridge Music Center in Galax and asks Joe Wilson, the former executive director of the National Council for the Traditional Arts, to take a bow.

3:40: All 10 fiddlers have finished. Out of sight, the judges tally their scores. At 84 points, the winner is clear-cut. Fiddler No. 4. But a tie for second place between No. 8 and No. 10 causes angst. As the judges debate, Lohman buys time at the stage mike. Finally, the judges flip a coin. It's tails. No. 8 wins second place.

3:45 : The winner is announced. It's Nate Leath from Natural Bridge. Leister congratulates him and gingerly hands over the prize fiddle. On Lohman's prompting, Leath takes a spin on his new violin. Afterward, in the staging area, Leath and Leister go over the fiddle. "I'm honored, man," Leath says.

4:15: The second day of contests heads to a finale. In the "Instrument Makers & Contest Winners Showcase," Lohman shuttles in performers from Saturday's mandolin and guitar contests who join Sunday's fiddlers and accompanists. It seems like every musician from Southwest Virginia is in the house. The minutes fly by as Lohman throws together another round.

4:25: Lohman thanks the talented stage crew managed over the weekend by Madeleine Remez, which included assistant Mary Monseur, sound engineer Mike Monseur and stage hands James Callahan and Stephen Buck. "Richmond is role model for these festivals," Remez says. "It has the full package." The jam sessions continue, featuring the fiddles, then the guitars, a singer and various strings.

5:03: The crowd can't get enough. But, alas, the clean-up team starts to move in. Before the last set, Lohman tells the audience: "When the music's over, grab a chair, grab two and head back to the end of the tent. Help Richmond keep doing this festival."

5:08: The music finally stops to yet another standing ovation. Lohman tries to figure out how he'll unwind. As requested, the listeners collect their white folding chairs. They're led by emcee Mitchell and the mayor of Galax, C.M. Mitchell. Outside the tent, the chairs are neatly stacked in rows. In less than 10 minutes, a once-hopping stage and audience area turn empty and quiet.

See you next year at the Richmond Folk Festival. We're already ready to go.