What is becoming a White Lake tradition will tune up and play tonight (Friday) as the fifth annual MelFest Bluegrass Festival gets underway at Melwood Music Court.

James Melvin said he started the event five years ago "as a reunion."

"It was a chance for people that loved bluegrass music to get together and have a good time," he said.

The first year, Melvin said, the bands played on a flatbed truck, to a crowd spread out on the ground near Melwood Court Motel.

Today, the MelWood Music Court has numerous shelters for spectators, and a rough-hewn stage behind Melvin's home on White Lake Drive.

"We had no idea it would get this size," he said. "The first year, only a couple of hundred people attended."

Lasts year's event drew upwards of 1,700 between Friday and Saturday.

"We've had a lot of calls this year," he said. "If the weather holds out, we expect a good turnout. We just want everybody to have a lot of fun."

The event has finally come into its own in the bluegrass community, Melvin said. Fans and other festival organizers have started recognizing the weekend after Memorial Day "as the weekend for MelFest," Melvin said.

Tickets to this year's event are $8 for Friday evening and $12 for Saturday. Children under 12 are admitted free with an adult, and colored arm bands will be issued at the gate. No alcohol, glass bottle, or pets are allowed. Visitors should bring a chair or blanket.

Admission is being charged for the first time because for the first time, MelFest has featured big name, professional bands.

"It was a hard call to make," Melvin said, "but we think it'll be worthwhile."

Previous events have been funded mainly by contributions, Melvin said, "but that just doesn't really work that well sometimes. Everybody's having too much fun."

"All we're worried about," Melvin said, "is breaking even."

Melvin said he thinks the event is good for the area, since it draws people to White Lake who might not otherwise visit the town.

"Bluegrass fans travel a lot," he said. "If someone comes down to MelFest, sees this beautiful lake for the first time, and later on decides to come back and stay for a weekend, we all win."

Melvin said the event couldn't happen without the support and work of his family, and friends.

"There's a lot goes into an event like this that people don't realize," he said, "but I've never lacked for people wanting to help out somehow. I can't thank them enough."

Melvin especially credits the work of his wife, Becky, who runs the motel and teaches day school in Elizabethtown.

Among the chores she took on for MelFest was handpainting the signs dotting roadsides around the county.

"She's an organizer," he said. "I'm just a chaos theorist."

The White Lake Volunteer Fire Department will be selling barbecue at the event, and concessions will be available on site.

Among the bands scheduled to perform are Chicken Hot Rod (a perennial favorite at MelFest), The Ramblers, None of The Above, The Shady Grove Band, and Miss Gena Britt.

Some of the best music, though, is to be heard in the parking lot, Melvin said.

MelFest has traditionally been a gathering place for amateur and professional bluegrass musicians whose impromptu jam sessions go on though the weekend.

"That's where everybody kind of comes together and just plays," he said. "That's the real heart and soul of bluegrass music."

Concerts run from 6-11 p.m. Friday and 1-11 p.m. Saturday. For more information, call (910) 862-2416 or go to www.melfestbluegrassfestival.com on the internet.

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