The town of Yellow Pine, Idaho, located about 150 miles north of Boise, is home to the Yellow Pine Harmonica Contest and Festival, the largest harmonica festival this side of the Mississippi River.
But last year, wildfires threatening the edges of the tiny backwoods town forced organizers to cancel the event. And earlier this month, the main road into town was washed out by mudslides.
Still, the show will go on: This year, the annual festival celebrates its 19 th year in the business of hosting acoustic musicians from all over the country.
"The festival is always a great time for people, and we enjoying having people come up," said harmonica contest chairman Willie Sullivan. "This is the main revenue for the town, which raises money to take care of town operations such as the cemetery and the community hall."
The event is set for Friday, Aug. 1, through Sunday, Aug. 3. The festival includes a youth division for participants 17 years old or younger, an adult division for 18 years old and over making less than half of their income from playing harmonica. The Grand Champion division is open to all, from amateurs to professionals.
Organizers estimate that more than 3,500 people visit Yellow Pine throughout the festival weekend, most of them camping in and around the area.
In early August last summer, wildfires surrounding the outskirts of Yellow Pine came close to destroying the town, leaving the 40-plus member summer community without electricity and phone lines. A few spot fires, which were close to town, could have been out of control, but local firefighters and Forest Service fire crews were there to help.
"We were without electricity for a long while," Sullivan said. "The National Forest Service set up a back fire, which got out of control and burned out power and electricity lines. The Cambridge Telephone Company got right on it and restored phone service quickly. Idaho Power sent in generators for a short time, but we were without power for two weeks."
Sullivan said there were power surges, which caused many to lose their refrigerators and freezers. Then winter came with double the amount of normal snowfall, making it a little tough to maneuver. Still, residents welcomed the snow because of the extra moisture it provided.
"We were concerned with runoff causing landslides in the spring, but there was no problem until we had a downpour," Sullivan said. Sure enough, they got it, on July 21: A mile-long mudslide washed out the road until state and local road crews could clear the debris.
But the town of Yellow Pine has every intention to hold the best harmonica festival it has known. Sullivan said that Johnson Creek is open and the county is working hard to open East Fork.
"My favorite thing is the variety of music, which gets played on the Main Street stage," Sullivan said. "We have the Crowd Pleaser where you can play an instrument and dance. It's highly watched by the people who come up."
A stage on one end of town serves the open mic sessions for anyone who wants to play on stage. Friday and Saturday evenings are Crowd Pleaser events, and performers sign up for ten-minute sets and play whatever they choose. Audience members decide their favorite by placing raffle tickets in designated coffee cans. At the end of the evening, tickets are drawn from the coffee can with the most tickets in it, and musicians receive a cash prize. Proceeds from the raffle go into a community fund.
Past festival winners such as Ralph Simmons from Boise and Marvin Jaramillo from Albuquerque, N.M. are making plans to return this year, and harp players from as far away as Virginia will attend.
Ketchum resident Rod Tatsuno has attended the festival for four years and said Elkhorn resident Alex Ridland has been going for several years to play as well.
"It is a laid-back atmosphere and very low key," Tatsuno said. "People bring food, banjos, guitars and harmonicas. They don't really go for the hard stuff, they play acoustic."
"Alex Ridland plays some real classical music, and I play part of a movie theme or part of something I've heard over time," Tatsuno said. "I may play a medley for the troops and perhaps the 'Star Spangled Banner."
Tatsuno said he looks forward to eating homemade huckleberry pies and cinnamon rolls and enjoys the dog-friendly environment. Travelers are advised to get gas in Stanley, Cascade or McCall and watch for trees falling and damage from the Yellow Pine Fire.
For details on the festival, camping and routes visit harmonicacontest.com.
