Special to the PVT A late entry to the Acoustic Grass Music Festival hosted by the VFW is the group "The Kid Fiddlers," who will play for the audience beginning at 5 p.m. on Saturday evening. This year's event will be April 3, 4 and 5. Advertisement

The VFW Post 10054 will host the second annual acoustic music and bluegrass festival the first weekend in April.

The event should be bigger and better than it was last year. There are more bands, added participation opportunities for local musicians, and more vendors.

The event will begin April 3 at 1 p.m. and end at 7 p.m. Friday; the focus will be on acoustic folk and country music. Local musicians will provide the entertainment. Dan Schinhofen, the event organizer said, "Friday afternoon is all about the acoustic music and will range from folk and country to Cajun and a little bluegrass, but for those serious about bluegrass, Saturday will be all about the bluegrass."

Saturday, the event opens at 9 a.m. and entertainment will start with a band scramble. For the uninitiated, the scramble works this way. There will be one container/can for each musical instrument. Musicians will drop their name on a slip of paper in the can labeled with their instrument. One name from each can is drawn and those people will have 15 minutes to grab their instruments, get together and work out three songs. Then they perform those songs for the audience, which will act as judges of the performance. Schinhofen laughed and said, "Sometimes it doesn't turn out so well but sometimes they're really good."

The scrambled band receiving the most applause will be the designated first place winner of a T-shirt commemorating the festival -- one for each member. Second- and third-place band members get a free drink. Schinhofen said, "We know it's not much but this (event) is to raise funds for all of the organizations helping our veterans."

The headliner bands will start at 3 p.m. and include Dr. Elmo and Wild Blue, Stuck in Reverse and Aspen Ridge. A late entry into the festival is the Kid Fiddlers who will start playing at 5 p.m.

Yukon Jack and Diamond Dan, often found performing on Thursday evenings at K-7 Lounge on Hafen Ranch Road, will emcee the event and play some of their original music as well.

A fiddle contest was on the agenda but was canceled. However, Schinhofen said if there are enough interested musicians, a contest could very well manifest itself on the spot.

After the event closes at the VFW Saturday night, many of the groups will head for the Pahrump Nugget and play the main stage starting around 7:30 p.m.

Sunday morning, the festival continues with a gospel set starting at 9 a.m. and will include the headliners from Saturday beginning with Stuck in Reverse. Dave Yoder and Friends will play at noon and Dr. Elmo and Wild Blue will play one more set.

Admission is free. There will be vendors selling crafts and T-shirts among other things. The VFW Ladies Auxiliary will sell hamburgers, hot dogs with all the fixin's and pulled pork barbecue. Another organization will sell Coors, Miller, or Budweiser beer and someone else will offer sodas and water.

Also on Sunday, there will be a raffle drawing for a wheelbarrow full of beer and a giveaway of the same. Tickets for the raffle will be sold throughout the event, at $1 each or six for $5. The wheelbarrow is included. Donations will be greatly appreciated.

Schinhofen said with the economy the way it is, the event almost didn't happen. "Corrections Corporation of America, when they heard we couldn't get this event on this year, they came through with 75 percent of the funds to put it on," he said.

Other sponsors are Advanced Medical Center, Joe's Sanitation, Hafen Realty, Pahrump Valley Auto Mall, DCK Worldwide, the Pahrump Nugget and Sheri's Resort.

The festival is April 3, 4 and 5 at the VFW Post, 4651 Homestead Road. It will open Friday and hours for the event are 1-7 p.m., Friday; 9-7 p.m., Saturday and 9-3 p.m. Sunday.

Call Schinhofen at 537-2562 for more information.

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