Foundation receives IBMA Distinguished Achievement Award
for Bloomin’ Bluegrass Festival at IBMA World of Bluegrass in Raleigh
September 26, 2024
The Bluegrass Heritage Foundation, together with the City of Farmers Branch Texas, was proud to receive the Distinguished Achievement Award from the International Bluegrass Music Association in honor of the 15-year history of the Bloomin’ Bluegrass Festival, held from 2010-2024 in the Farmers Branch Historical Park. The award was presented on Thursday Sept. 26 2024 at IBMA’s World of Bluegrass in Raleigh, North Carolina, with award show program hosts Mike Compton and Joe Newberry opening the ceremony.
Alan Tompkins of the Bluegrass Heritage Foundation presented the award on behalf of IBMA. Mayor Terry Lynne, Jessica Alvarado, and Jocelyn Avina were on hand to accept the award on behalf of the City of Farmers Branch Texas. Board members Matt Tessier and Gerald Jones accepted the award on behalf of the Bluegrass Heritage Foundation. The presentation and award acceptance acknowledged and gave great thanks to the City of Farmers Branch and its staff members, to the Bluegrass Heritage Foundation and its leadership and volunteers, to the many artists who have performed at Bloomin’ Bluegrass over the years, and to the bluegrass fans who have supported the event and made its incredible success possible.
IBMA Distinguished Achievement Awards honor those individuals and organizations in bluegrass music who have proven to be forerunners in their particular field of endeavor and have fostered bluegrass music’s image with developments that will broaden the music’s recognition and accessibility. The awards extended to individuals for their contributions shall fall into specific categories and are especially appropriate when they provide acclaim for those not recognized by other IBMA award categories.
The Foundation thanks the outstanding photographers who have been associated with Bloomin’ Bluegrass Festival over its 15-year history and whose photos were used in the award presentation, including Derrick Birdsall, Bob Compere, Nate Dalzell, and Kirsten Coutts. We thank Heidi Holloway for the presentation photo above.
