International Whistlers Convention


Whistlers Convention, International

Third week in AprilThis convocation of whistlers in Louisburg, N.C., is highlighted by whistlers' contests for children, teenagers, and adults. Held since 1974, it grew out of a folk festival.
The convention features a school for whistlers and a concert in which the performer is usually someone who can both sing and whistle. On the Sunday after the contest, whistlers whistle at church services and on Monday give demonstrations in schools.
The grand champion in 1992 was Sean Lomax of Murrieta, Calif., who whistled the First Movement of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony and a selection from Bizet's Carmen . This is serious whistling.
This convention isn't a big event, but it is the only one in the United States, and in 1992 it attracted people from 10 states and three Canadian provinces. In addition, Masaaki Moku, a whistler from Osaka, Japan, was there; he whistled the Japanese national anthem for the contest audience.
CONTACTS:
Franklin County Arts Council
P.O. Box 758
Louisburg, NC 27549
919-496-1191
www.whistlingiwc.com