Mayville Events is your resource for arts, entertainment and dining, in and around the north end of Chautauqua Lake. Working together, our civic groups, community planners, restauranteurs, artists, and area businesses strive to create exciting, year round activities and events in the Chautauqua Lake region.
The Mayville ICE and Cool Jazz Festival - Feb. 16-17, 2008 Not just an ice castle anymore! Experience great wintertime activities and a premier Jazz Festival throughout our annual winter fest.
Folk on the Hill - March, 2008 Introduced at the Red Brick Farm in 2005 with Cowboy Zen songwriter Chuck Pyle and moved to Mayville's House on the Hill in 2007 - this event brings the best of folk music to the area once again.
Mayville Dock Festival - June 2008 Discover how easy it is to get to Mayville and how wonderful it is when you do, as we host a "getting to know you" party at the very north end of the lake. The Mayville Docks Festival features live entertainment; boat demos; kids' activities; museum tours and the Annual taste of Mayville, a delectable sampling of the best of our restaurant row cuisine. We taste better every year.
Mayville Bluegrass Festival - June 14-15, 2008 What started out a small hometown bluegrass get-together, gets bigger and better every year! For more information, visit the official web site for this event at www.mayvillebluegrassfestival.com
Mayville Guitar Show and Stringed Instrument Festival - October  2008 This October festival brings together the best western New York luthiers and dealers of fine instruments, weekend-long workshops and concerts.
Mayville Gospel Blues Festival - November 2008 Mayville plays host to the best in the Gospel and Blues genre. A rockin' and holy-rollin' great time for those who like good music played with passion.
A Mayville Christmas - December 2008 A good old-fashioned Christmas celebration with carolers, good food, shopping, live music and lots of Christmas spirit!
Mayville Guitar and Stringed Instrument Festival

Mayville, NY- The third annual Mayville Guitar Show and Stringed Instrument Expo will feature an array of instruments builders and dealers, as well as world-renowned performers and workshop leaders. It will be held October 13-14 in the brand-new Celebration Hall event facility at the end of Chautauqua Lake in Mayville, NY.

Headlining the event will be acclaimed guitarist/songcrafter Chuck Pyle. As 'Colorado' as the Rockies, singer/songwriter Chuck Pyle has won the unqualified respect & praise of peers and fans for 30 years. Referred to affectionately as the Zen Cowboy, Pyle wraps his infectiously hummable melodies with straight-from-the-saddle poetry, quoting bumper stickers, proverbs, world leaders and old cowboys at his shows. When reviewers first gave him the Zen Cowboy label, he decided to, as he says, "ride the horse in the direction it's going", and took his new nickname to heart. Shaving his head and blending upbeat spirituality with horse sense, Pyle began writing songs about forgetful cowboys, heroic highway patrolmen and brainstems gone 'critical'. An accomplished songwriter, Pyle's songs have been recorded by John Denver, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Suzy Bogguss. He attained local fame when he wrote the theme-song -- thought by many to be the unofficial Colorado State Song -- for the PBS series, Spirit of Colorado; he was invited to sing that same song for the opening session of the 2005 Colorado State Legislature. His flair for words and melody has made him a favorite of Bill & Melinda Gates, who've had him play at their house. Among Country fans, he's probably best known for writing, "Cadillac Cowboy", recorded by the late Chris LeDoux, and "Jaded Lover," recorded by Jerry Jeff Walker. Pyle's groundbreaking guitar playing enhances his performances. The sheer invention of his finger-style has distinguished him as a true American original, and earned him teaching invitations to The Puget Sound Guitar Workshop and The Swannanoa Gathering. An Iowa native, Pyle made his way to the Front Range of Colorado in 1965 when, he says, 'Boulder was mostly gravel streets'. He travels the world, taking what is best about America with him, playing theaters, festivals, colleges, coffeehouses and house concerts. Pyle has nine albums to his credit, including a live album Romancing the Moment released in 2005 and True Unity a new studio album recorded at Boulder's nationally-prominent Coupe Studios. Produced by John McVey the album includes appearances by Pyle's fiddle player Gordon Burt; award winning dobro player Sally Van Meter; John Magnie of the Subdudes; the eTones (house band for the syndicated radio show, eTown); and Taylor Mesple, (son of Steve Mesple, founder of the Boulder-based band), Wind Machine. True Unity is a satisfying collection of swing, folk, Cajun & pop, all sprinkled with Pyle's intelligent lyrics.

Luthiers participating in the festival include Jim Holler from Trinity Guitars in Jamestown, Ithaca's Eric Aceto, Scott Freilich from Buffalo’s Top Shelf Music. There will also be numerous violin, guitar and mandolin builders from throughout western NY. Dealers and representatives of some of the world’s finest instruments will be in attendance, as well.

The Mayville show will host many other workshops, demos, clinics, and discussions on subjects such as instrument construction; beginning to advanced guitar; Swing fiddle; mandolin, flatpicking and fingerstyle guitar.

The event will be held at Mayville’s new Celebration Hall, which will serve as the vendor and main concert area. Workshops will take in the adjacent rooms to the hall, located in the old Mayville School building. Food and beverages will be available throughout the event.

Just down the road, the Red Brick Farm and Marketplace will be presenting a “Guitar Widow’s Getaway” on the Saturday and Sunday of the festival. That event will present an alternative for those who may wish to let their instrument enthusiast spouses or friends enjoy the show by themselves. The getaway will feature lunch specials, music, cooking and designing demos, wine tasting, and sales in the array of shops at the Red Brick Farm.

Admission for the weekend is $15, which will include the Saturday evening Chck Pyle concert. The fee for each workshop is $20(preregistered) and $25(gate). There will be single day admission rates available. For more info, call Mayville Events at 716.753.2800 or visit www.mayvilleevents.com