THE HISTORY OF CARP CAMP...

     Each year during the month of September, the phenomenon known as Carp Camp, convenes on a small piece of dirt in the Walnut Grove of the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, KS.  To fully understand the dynamics of this gathering, one must go back to the origins of the festival itself. 

    In 1967, a group of locals started a folk festival at the local college in Winfield.  The Southwestern College Folk Festival was created by local guitar luthier, Stuart Mossman, Sam Ontjes and their families.  In 1972, this became the Walnut Valley Folk Festival and hosted the National Flat Pick Guitar Championships.  The following years, with the help of Bob Redford, the festival was moved from the college, to the Cowley County Fairgrounds to better serve the growing needs of the community. The name was changed to The Walnut Valley Festival and has grown from an audience of 150 to over 20,000 music lovers from across the globe. 

     In 1976, a local college kid named Bob Prewitt, attended the festival for the first time.  He was good friends with Stuart and Sam and decided to set up camp with a group of his music pals.  This was camping the hard way, tents, mud and bugs. The original camp was called, The Gathering in the Grass, and was located across the road from where Stage 3 is today.  Everyone going in and out of the festival would walk through the camp, so Bob and his friends decided to move to the west edge of the Walnut Grove near the river.  

     In 1980, a young vagrant living in Minnesota named Dave Firestine, came to the WVF for the first time.  He knew about three tunes but wanted to be a part of this music experience.  That week Dave met Bob and a bearded hammer dulcimer wizard named Jim Fyhrie. They were playing tunes that Dave liked, and the fire was lit.  Dave learned that Jim loved to fish, so the next year he brought Jim a T Shirt that said, “Minnesota Carp, not just for breakfast anymore”.    The next year, Dave brought a new shirt that said, “Club Carp - Excitement, Romance, Live Bait”. There was a theme. 

     In 1985, the camp moved to the current location in the Walnut Grove.  That year, Dave and his wife designed and made the iconic “Flying Carp”.  The carp would fly above the tent where they played music and was a homing beacon for folks wanting to come have a listen.  Dave would tell them, “Just go to where you see the flying carp”.  Over time, it was shortened to simply, CARP CAMP, and now you know. 

     Carp Camp has had some amazing moments through the years.  As a sort of right-of-passage, many of the national champion contest winners will stop by and grace the Carp Camp stage.  Recognizing the presence of musical greatness,  you will often hear refrains of "we're not worthy", all to the chagrin of those occupying the stage.  Champions, performers, kids of all ages, and friends no longer with us, have left an indelible mark on the legacy of Carp Camp.  We love to revel in the weird, because we can. The beauty of it all is that there is room for everyone. 

     So when you are listening to the hum of the Carp Camp Orchestra, and you hear Dave yell out, “SPANK IT” (a carpe-lodian phrase meaning to play your instrument with as much gusto as you possibly can), we hope you can appreciate all that has gone into the making of this wonderful thing we call…

 

CARP CAMP!