4th Annual Fiddletown Heritage Day

and

Best of Fiddletown Wine Competition


For many generations, the rolling hills of Fiddletown have produced some of the greatest wine grapes in the Sierra Foothills. To honor this rich part of Amador County's heritage, the Fiddletown Preservation Society will be holding the region's first Best of Fiddletown Wine Competition-- a "people's choice awards" style challenge where the public is invited to judge the best wine with a Fiddletown AVA.


The event will be held April 5, 2008 as part of the 4th Annual Fiddletown Heritage Day celebration to welcome the seasonal opening of the Chew Kee Museum--a historic Chinese herb shop on the west end of Fiddletown that is open Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m. during the months of April through October. It is one of the few places where visitors can find authentic artifacts and furnishings of Chinese life in the early days of California. Admission is free, although donations of $1/child, $2/adult and $5/family are suggested.


Other activities for the 2008 Heritage Day celebration will be held at the Community Center, which is easy to find on the main street – just look for the building with the giant fiddle on top.


The wine competition will take place in the kitchen of the community center. For $10, guests over age 21 will receive a ballot with the participating wineries listed. As guests complete their tour, they vote for their favorite Fiddletown wine.


Local residents will proudly take the stage of the community center main hall to entertain the crowd. Acts include cowboy singer and artist Ron Scofield, the Silver Streaks Banjo Band, classic rock/folk singer and guitarist Duncan Purcel, and blues singer Darcel Hunter. Cowboy poet Harold Gower, author of "Watershed" will also be making a guest appearance. Admission to the music events is free, although donations will be accepted. If you're feeling lucky, you can take your chance at Lucky Bucks -- an hourly 50/50 drawing where guests enter to win half the kitty. The main hall will also have vendor booths and a seating area for lunch, which will be available for a special price by Incahoots BBQ.


As part of our historical outreach efforts, special guest lecturers will speak in the library of the community center. FPS member Jack Feichtner, owner and winemaker for Le Mulet Rouge Winery, will be giving a presentation on the aromas and flavors of wine. Amador County resident Eric Costa, author of "Old Vines" and "Historic Amador Farm Trails" will offer a presentation focusing on the history of agriculture in the Shenandoah Valley. Michelle Lau will speak on Chinese herbal medicine. Admission to each lecture is $5.


Setting up a free placer mining exhibit by the creek will be American Camp Living History group. Mining enthusiasts are also welcome to check out the Rock Hound Saloon across from the community center. The Rock Hounds is a historic saloon that has been converted into a gem and mineral shop.


All proceeds from the event benefit the Restoration of Chinese Structures (ROCS) project.  The Chinese were instrumental in building California, yet so little remains of their first settlements in the Sierra foothills.  Fiddletown is proud to have four 19th Century buildings still standing that represent the largest and most intact group of Chinese buildings from a California Gold Rush mining town—the Chinese general store, gambling hall, Chew Kee herb shop and Chinese adobe.  The Chinese adobe is privately owned but the other three buildings are owned by the County of Amador and are maintained under the auspices of the FPS. The Chew Kee was restored in the 1980s, and received the prestigious Governors Award for Best Restoration Project in 1989. The Chinese general store and gambling hall are slated for restoration, which is why the FPS formed the ROCS project.  The FPS needs to raise more than $100,000 to stabilize and weatherproof these two very fragile historical sites.  Without renovation work, these precious remnants of Chinese-American history will imminently collapse and the legacy of the Chinese pioneers will be gone. 


The small gold rush community of Fiddletown is located 40 miles southeast of Sacramento in Amador County.  Fiddletown's historic significance attracts hundreds of tourists and school groups each year.  The town is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places as National Historic Registration #78000655.  It is also listed as California Historic Landmark Number 35. 


For more information on the 4th Annual Fiddletown Heritage Day, contact Gwen Johnson at (209) 256-3222 or e-mail fiddletown_rocs@yahoo.com. Tax-deductible donations may be sent to FPS Restoration of Chinese Structures Fund, PO Box 53, Fiddletown, CA 95629; or donate online at www.fiddletown.info. The FPS is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization (Tax ID #51-0180800).  Or, simply fill out and return the form below.

Date__________________________________________________________________________

Name_________________________________________________________________________

Address_______________________________________________________________________

City___________________________________________ State__________ Zip______________

Phone (_____)__________________________________________________________________

Email_________________________________________________________________________

Membership Category (not tax-deductible):   q Individual $10   q Family $20
Membership includes voting privileges, news updates, and notification of special events. Funds from membership help pay for the annual Schoolhouse Breakfast in the fall, the Heritage Day Celebration in the spring, maintenance of the website and other administrative costs.

Additional Tax-Deductible Donation:

 q $25    q $50    q $75    q $100    q $500    q $1,000    q Other Amount $______________
Proceeds from donations may go towards one of the actual restoration projects or into the general fund. Please indication your preference:
q Schoolhouse Restoration Fund    q Restoration of Chinese Structures    q General Fund

 

Please make checks payable to

Fiddletown Preservation Society, PO Box 53, Fiddletown, CA 95629

 

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!


Entertainment and/or Presentations by:





American Camp Living History Group

They have appeared on the History Channel and the PBS show "American Experience",

will re-enact a historical mining camp circa 1853 at Dry Creek on the east end of town.






Ron Scofield brings his cowboy music and artwork to the Fiddletown Community Center.







Old Soles:  Old Soles perform toe-tapping old time banjo and fiddle music at noon.








Blues singer Darcel Hunter and guitarist Pat Keene send visitors off into the sunset during the closing ceremonies of the fourth annual Fiddletown Heritage Day.






Historian Elaine Zorbas will lead a guided walking tour of historic Fiddletown.