In addition to the random photos which have been added to the website to the immediate left, here is a link to photos taken last year by festival-goers:

The price of admission will be $5 for the whole event.

THE WORKSHOPS - There will be about 200 music related classes scheduled at the festival. A majority will feature hammered dulcimers but there'll also be instruction for many other instruments.

Workshops are offered without any kind of pre-registration. They are included in the price of admission.

CAMPING AT ODPC FUNFEST - (The following information is quoted from the Osceola County Fairgrounds website and pertains to the ODPC Funfest) -
2012 Camping Policy for events held on the Osceola 4-H/FFA Fairgrounds:
Campsites are assigned on a first come basis with cash, credit card or check. As a courtesy, we will accept payment with a credit card by phone but you cannot call in advance to purchase a campsite. If you want to purchase a campsite with your credit card you must do it on the day you want to start paying for that campsite. There will be no pre-payments accepted ahead of time. If you have any questions or concerns, please call the fair office at 231-734-5481 - leave a message and someone will return your call as soon as possible.

FRIDAY HAMMERED DULCIMER PRE-SHOW - 2012 Pre-Show Tune List (for practicing) Have fun learning these tunes so you can participate.

FREQUENTLY ASKED FESTIVAL QUESTIONS - All those things you want to know before coming.

PHOTOS TAKEN AT PREVIOUS FUNFESTS - Here are the photos taken by various festival attendees. You'll find that the older links probably won't work because they've been removed from the sites. You will probably only want to look at the previous couple of years. - Hundreds of Funfest Photos

Or maybe you'd like to start up a slideshow of 2010 photos taken by Pete Lascell, our website's official photographer. It takes a few seconds to load, so give it time:

Center of the Dulcimer World

This site accents the hammered dulcimer. We are from Michigan and there are more hammered dulcimers per capita in our state than in any other. Michigan is the home of the Original Dulcimer Players Club (O.D.P.C.), the oldest and largest hammered dulcimer club.

You'll find information on the O.D.P.C.'s Funfest (held each year in Evart, MI). (Most of the photos on this page were taken at the 2009 Evart festival.) We want the world to know about Michigan's hammered dulcimer events. We also include links to other hammered dulcimer festivals in other states, but the "accent" is on what is available in Michigan.

This site is our gift to the music community and want it to be commercial-free; therefore, we have created a second site: http://dulcimers.biz where you can shop for a hammered dulcimer. It even includes a classified section where you can list (for free) your own re-sale music items.

What does a hammered dulcimer sound like?

You can click arrow at the left end of the "player" to hear 16-year-old Keith Billings' version of "Amazing Grace" from his CD. (An email form will come up and you can explain your interest and ask questions.) Click Here to request CD Information.

Clicking the tiny arrow on this player will allow you to hear Dee Dee Tibbit's original composition, "Bryson Hall Waltz," from the Sonas "Timeless" CD which can be found at http://SonasMusic.com The main instrument you hear is Dee Dee's lovely hammered dulcimer.

If you have a hammered dulcimer recording you'd like to have featured on this website, please contact me. (My email link is at the bottom of this page.)

Hits to the Website

We had 3,107,651 HITS during the year 2011! That's right, over THREE MILLION HITS!! Thanks to all of you who like our site.
Source: Webalizer statistics, 1/1/2012.

And as an added point of interest, http://sharons-blog.com has now grown to nearly half-million hits a year (490,792 hits) for 2011! (Why would anyone want to read about my boring life? I ask.)