The Nunn Family

The Nunn family began when a sweet lady from Slate Mountain, Ziney Alzry Nunn, met a young gentleman from Westfield, Clarence Olin Nunn. After a fun-filled courtship, the young couple was married and began a lifetime together.

Even though times were hard then, the Nunn family was able to raise tobacco, gardens, and farm animals to support the family. During the course of many years that followed in Olin & Alzry’s marriage, the family grew by 10: Kelly, Mary Jane, Saford, Elvin, Rhonda, Vanise, Shirley, Ronnie Dale (RD), and Arnold & Alden (twins).

With the arrival of the twins, parents and siblings were intrigued and proud of the 2 baby boys. As the boys grew, Olin and Alzry’s love of music was being passed on to the younger children and later to the twins.

It was when the boys turned 8 that Olin their father decided to start each boy out on an instrument. Alden began by playing the piano but soon switched to the fiddle. Arnold began with the fiddle and later switched to the piano and guitar. Both boys continued to practice daily to fine tune their talents.

However, tragedy struck when the boys were 13. Their father suddenly died. At that time the twins took on a huge responsibility for providing for their mom and keeping the home place running. They continued raising tobacco, driving school buses, and working in maintenance for the local elementary school when old enough to drive to provide the finances needed to maintain their home.

By 19 Alden began working for the hospital and Arnold began working for the Granite Corp in Mount Airy. However, Alden feeling a sense of wanting more, began a bulldozing business with Arnold working part time for him. In the summer of 1990, the boys merged their entrepreneurial hopes and began a fulltime excavation business. Today the business has grown beyond what either young man could have foreseen. The business which started with a bulldozer and dump truck for clearing land and hauling gravels has grown into a business providing top of the line excavation services.

With the pressures of work at an all-time high, the “boys” found that their love of music became their favorite pastime to alleviate the stress of such a growing and successful business.

Out of that passion came, the festival in the year of 1999. Alden and Arnold wanting to have a place to continue the old-time traditions of bluegrass and to have a family oriented environment for everyone to enjoy decided to hold their 1st festival. This vision is now going on it’s 10th year with crowds growing from 500 the first year to well over 2000 annually. The festival runs Thursday through Sunday with local bands filling the afternoon and night air with the sounds of years gone by……………Bluegrass at it’s Best!