This year's raffle is a banjo made by Christopher Dean, a native of Berkeley Springs, West Virginia and donated by John Blisard of Elkview, West Virginia.  Chris built this banjo in the style of those made by the late Jenes Cottrell, a long-time member of the central West Virginia old-time music community.  Jenes made banjos completely by hand with no power tools, and among his favorite items for a pot was the torque converter from a 1956 Buick transmission.  This banjo is made in that fashion, along with the distinctive peghead shape and large inlays that were so unique to Jenes's builds.

We are limiting the number of tickets to just 500, so one ticket gets you a 0.2 percent chance of winning!  Single tickets are just $5, and you can get five tickets for $20 and then have a one percent chance of winning!

The drawing will be held during the Saturday evening concert in the GSU Fine Arts Auditorium.  The winner need not be present, but any shipping arrangements are the responsibility of the winner.  We'll also gladly hold the banjo for you until you can make arrangements to get it.