After a full career in elementary education, Laurie has found a perfect blending of her two passions, teaching learners and playing the dulcimer. She has participated in a variety of festivals, virtual and in-person.  Festival credits include QDF, Dulcimer U, BMMF, Central Florida Dulcimer Festival, NGFDA, and the Alabama Folk School.  She also serves as co-director of the Stephen Foster Dulcimer Retreat.  

Laurie has several dulcimer books and is a weekly contributor to the Send in the Music Virtual Jam, offering dulcimer tab to the participants and serving as a song leader. She hosts a weekly very informal zoom jam and a monthly in-person jam.  You can also find Laurie on YouTube, adding “No Frills” videos weekly.

     Long known for her fiddling versatility, Kathie has been involved with the revived FOTMC since its new life in 2022.  She also attended FOTMC during the years Ernie Williams and Jim Strickland directed the event.

      When she retired from her thirty-five year career as a professional orchestra violist, she was able to devote more time to contra dance bands (she belongs to three at present), and continues to teach fiddling. 

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     Kathie and Bill are often called upon by Deb Gilman to lead workshops at FOTMC events and at the Florida Folk Festival. (It might be interesting for historians of contra dancing in Florida, to know that Kathie and Bill were part of the original group that began the Tampa Friends of Old Time Dance.

     Bill Dudley is one of the most well known guitarists in Florida, as well as one who is known in North Carolina and Virginia, playing Old-Time tunes and back-up guitar, as well as playing in several contra dance bands.  He has been known to  play several styles of music well, such as rag-time, blues, old show tunes, and many popular tunes from the 1920s and later.

     Bill has often mentored musicians 

     Chuck Levy is a Florida Old-Time Banjo and a Florida Old-Time Fiddle Champion. He is equally at home on 5 and 6 string banjos whether freted or fretless, playing clawhammer, two-finger up-picking, and minstrel styles.

Chuck founded and served as the first president of the Florida Banjo Society and is a past president of the Florida State Fiddlers Association. In addition, Chuck directs the annual Stephen Foster Old-Time Music Weekend in White Springs, Florida.  

Chuck has been honored with both the Thelma Boltin and the Ed Fleming Awards for his contributions to old-time music in Florida and his skillful musicianship.

A respected banjo scholar, Chuck visited Senegal and Gambia to learn to play the akonting, an African banjo ancestor. His scholarly works have appeared in the Old-Time Herald, Banjo Newsletter, and the book, “Banjo Roots and Branches.” In addition, Chuck has been on the faculty of the Mars Hill College Blue Ridge Old-Time Music Week, the Midwest Banjo Camp, and the Suwannee Banjo Camp. Chuck is based in Gainesville, Florida, where he teaches fiddle and banjo. He is a member of  the band, The Purple Hayseeds, also based in Gainesville.

     Chris travels to several large Dulcimer festivals in the USA each year with her husband and back-up guitarist, Phil Pittenger. Chris is well-known for her Hammered Dulcimer and Mountain Dulcimer musicianship. They also do a "petting Zoo" where many old-time musical instruments are put out for people to walk by and try them out. Chris and Phil give each instrument's history and how-to-play instructions in their "zoo" visitors. Many smiles and giggles are heard from their tent as people of all ages try out these various old-time music makers. 

      Chris is a FOTMC hammered dulcimer champion as well as a mountain dulcimer ribbon winner. She demonstrates her musicianship in our Florida jams and at her workshops at FOTMC events, at Barberville Pioneer Settlement, and at many other festivals and music events around the States..

      Chris will be teaching and demonstrating the hammered dulcimer in her workshop. She is also a board member and on the FOTMC, Inc. Board of Directors, and is one of the members of the Workshop Committee, helping to bring excellence to our FOTMC workshops.

     Miss Moonshine is a well-known percussive dancer, sometimes referred to as a "buck dancer," who will be FOTMC 2026's Dance Ambassador. You will likely see her spreading good will at the Percussive Dance workshops, during our contests, and at various jam circles in the park campground. She is well-known in several States and there are many videos on YouTube of her dancing to music from well-known Old-Time musicians. Please say hello to her if you see her. She is a very welcome addition to our FOTMC family.

      Karan picked up her first fiddle at an auction in Montana in the late 1970s. She brought it back to Florida and proudly showed it to  Lloyd Baldwin while sitting around a bon fire. He laughed and thought it would make nice firewood. 

     Later she bought a real fiddle and took a community education class at Sante Fe Community College from Tom Staley.  He introduced  the class to many local musicians and the genre of old-time music as well. Tom told us where we could find the local old-time music jams.   After a few years  Karan picked up a mandolin made that her primary instrument but still brings her fiddle out every once in a while.  She is a member of the band, Dim Lights, a favorite for audience members in the north Florida, Saint Augustine and Melrose area.  You can see her play mandolin with her band at several Florida festivals, the Florida Folk Festival and the Will McLean festivals are two where she can be found..

     Jack has been playing guitar, mandolin and bass for many years. He is a part-time Florida resident who attends several Old-Time and Bluegrass jams here in Floirda and in other states. He has played back-up guitar for many musicians and bands and can help you understand the importance of the well-played back-up guitar.

      He is leading a workshop on Playing Back-Up Guitar, but also will be available for mentoring during FOTMC 2026. If you are  beginning musician in guitar or mandolin, you can arrange to meet Jack for a lesson. There will be contact information available at the admissions table.