Bloomin’ Bluegrass Festival nominated for
2014 IBMA Event of the Year Award

August 16, 2014
The Bluegrass Heritage Foundation is proud to announce that the Bloomin’ Bluegrass Festival & Chili Cook-Off, now in its fifth year, which is presented by the Foundation and the City of Farmers Branch, Texas, has been nominated for the 2014 Bluegrass Event of the Year Award by the International Bluegrass Music Association.  The award will be presented at the International Bluegrass Music Association’s World of Bluegrass Conference Luncheon on Thursday, October 2, 2014, in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Foundation president Alan Tompkins commented that “this nomination is an incredible honor for all the people, both those associated with the Bluegrass Heritage Foundation and the City of Farmers Branch, Texas, who have worked so hard for the past five years to make this event a great success.  And the event wouldn’t be what it is without all the wonderful folks who come out to enjoy the music, jam, socialize, and have a great time.  We are humbled to be nominated for this award, and express our sincere appreciation to the bluegrass community and the International Bluegrass Music Association.”

According to IBMA, the award recognizes events (festivals, concerts, and other live performance productions) for their outstanding accomplishment and service to bluegrass music in the field of event production. The recipients are judged by the IBMA’s select committee for their overall contributions to the field of event production, professionalism and quality of presentation, work furthering bluegrass in their area of service, and demonstrated ability to foster bluegrass music’s image.  Longevity of an event (number of years produced) may be a contributing factor for extending the award, but length of service alone is not an acceptable reason for recognizing an event.  All candidates will be judged and compared equally for their contributions, and nothing prevents an event from winning the award more than once or in consecutive years.