Papal Visit Purim Millennium Snow in Jer. Kaufman, the only three-time winner of the National Flatpicking Championships held in Winfield, Kansas, says his annual camp is the largest of its type on the planet. Hundreds of adults of all ages from Brazil to Australia have flown in to stay in college dorms, jam, and go to classes on how to make a living in music and other topics. An Israeli mandolin orchestra has expressed interest in playing at the camp sometime. His camp concerts, which are open to the public, this year include the first-chair mandolin player from a philharmonic orchestra in Italy.
Campers also play the banjo and guitar.
In the planning stages are dobro, dulcimer, and fiddle camps. I had a nice Jewish brother playing banjo and he needed a nice Jewish boy to back him up. His brother brought home a Flatt and Scruggs record with tunes by the granddaddy of bluegrass, Doc Watson. So he started playing bluegrass at age 14, learning to make guitar melodies with a pick instead of his fingers. Flatpicking quickly captured his heart.