Welcome
to the website of the
5th annual Guildford Banjo Jamboree !
19th, 20th & 21st September 2008

This site was last modified on 28th August 2008 with a new front page to let people know the dates for the 5th Jamboree to be held in 2008. Further updates will be forthcoming over the next month or so, drop by again to see what's happening.

The 2008 logo is an image of the late Bessie Campbell (1870-1964), the drawing is by talented Guildford artist, Jason Conn who created the likeness from an old photograph. Bessie Campbell a prodigy on the five string banjo became known as the 'Queen of the Banjo', she was born in Melbourne on the 21st July, 1870. The Banjo Jamboree Committee decided to use Bessie for this year's Jamboree to honour her and acknowledge a very talented Australian Banjo player.

Once again, there have been quite a few bands offering to perform in this years concerts and this years programme promises to be another spectacular weekend of scintillating performances !

The Jamboree aims to provide an environment similar to the Yarra Junction Fiddler's Convention, however with the emphasis on this occasion being that much maligned family of instruments - the banjo. Consequently much of the weekend will be focussed around "ad-hoc" entertainment and sessions. In the interest of providing some structure, we have organised workshops covering various instrument types and playing styles and The Maree Murrell Caper (Old Time Bush Dance) will be held on the Saturday night. Several of the popular elements of the first three Jamborees will of course remain, The Robbie Watts Pick off event, Gospel Concert/Singalong, Selvi's Curry Van, Tex's Tees and the Exhibition of Rare, Fine and Handcrafted instruments will all feature again and more events are being considered.

A big success at last year's Jamboree was the novice player workshop conducted by Bruce Sedawie. This year Peter Somerville has generously offered to take up the mantle and we have again reserved the space in the loft area behind the Music Hall where we hope sessions will be happening throughout the weekend with the novice player in mind. There will be a few workshops in this space and novices will be guided through a couple of tunes, several chords, rolls to practice and other elementary banjo techniques. Visit this page to see what is planned.

All of this for the princely sum of:

Tickets go on sale from 6:00pm on the Friday night at the reception area in the Public Hall and will be available all weekend. There is no need to pre book as there will be room for everyone

Some details about local accomodation options:

• Camping is available to weekend ticket holders on the Guildford Oval in the heart of town or in Big Tree Park a little further removed. Unfortunately, while there are public toilets and barbeque facilities, there are no public showers in Guildford. We have organised for showers to be available in Vaughan Springs, about 10 minutes drive, and maps will be available from reception.
• There are caravan parks in Castlemaine (15 min), (03) 5472 1125, and Maldon (25min), (03) 5475 2344.
• In addition, the RACV tourism guide provides a list of accommodation to cater for all pocket depths:
  Castlemaine
  Maldon

The Guildford Banjo Jamboree has now established its place on the acoustic music calendar. The organising committee have received a great deal of encouragement to ensure that the event continues in the same form on an annual basis. Thanks to all those who have attended and contributed towards making the weekend such a great time. You can check out the site for the 1st Guildford Banjo Jamboree to wax nolstalgic if you were there, or to see what you missed if you weren't. The site contains the original programme information and some photos etc (more to be included soon!)

The page reviewing the 3rd Guildford Banjo Jamboree is still under construction (as is the one for the 2nd Mick). It will contain the "Massed Banjo" photo taken over the weekend as well as a link to dozens of other photos. We'd love to hear your comments about the weekend and can always use more photos so please drop us a line if you have something to offer. We'll do our best to respond to all messages. For those of you who've never been to Guildford, why don't you visit the Map page. Don't forget - you could be a part of making the Guildford Banjo Jamboree one of the most memorable music gatherings by volunteering a part of your weekend to help the Organisers. Check out the volunteer subscription page for details !

Please note that, as a result of Public Liability Insurance constraints and in the interest of public safety, and while they are welcome in the town of Guildford, no dogs will be permitted in any venue (including the Guildford Family Hotel beer garden) during programmed events. We hope that this will not cause any offence to Jamboree patrons and ask for their understanding. Mark & Lisa of Hilltop Kennels & Cattery, 300 Shicer Gully Road, Guildford, Vic, 3451 can be contacted:

Phone: 03 54 734567 Mobile: 0417 430 382 email: hilltopkc@bigpond.com

"All our guests are fed & exercised based on their individual requirements and we are more than happy to cater for any special requests. All dogs and cats are housed in their own separate and secure, sheltered and hygienic accommodation. Please phone or email us if you require any further information."