For thousands of fans of guitar, bluegrass and old-time music, September in Kansas is synonymous with the Walnut Valley Music Festival, more commonly and simply known as "Winfield". Part music festival and part tribal gathering- Winfield has a remarkable chemistry that keeps people coming back literally year after year after year since 1972. Each year during the festival, the Winfield Fairground is transformed into a mini-city of tents, RVs and trailers as some 15,000 music fans descend upon the community. The campground even boasts its own radio station and wireless Internet for the duration of the festival.

Once again this September, for the fourth year in a row, my wife and I packed up the car and made the three-day drive from Regina Saskatchewan on what has become an annual pilgrimage to this musical event. This year was a bit different for me, though. For the past three years I've been making the trip as a competitor in the Fingerstyle Guitar Competition. In 2002 I placed third, and the following year had the good fortune of winning the competition. But this year I was given the opportunity to experience the festival from a performer's perspective. After 34 years, Bob Redford and his team seem to have the festival organization down to a science, and I can confirm they know how to treat the performers well.

A performer requires an audience to put in "a day at the office" and fortunately, Winfield performers can count on a truly dedicated audience. Case in point: as the festival started on Thursday morning with overcast skies, a cool breeze and drizzling rain, I was impressed to see an enthusiastic crowd stick it out for the workshop on fingerstyle guitar that I shared with Pete Huttlinger and Stephen Bennett. Everyone was pleased to see the dreary weather lift by Thursday afternoon, and the remainder of the festival enjoyed some of the nicest temperatures we've experienced in four years.

Over the next two days I played additional concerts on my own and was delighted to receive a warm reception from the Winfield audiences. It's a strange experience to spend several years in the audience watching a particular stage at the festival, and to now find myself on the performer's side of the microphone. In particular, there was an odd sense of "déjà vu, but not quite" when one of my shows was on the same stage where I had competed in previous years.

But what of the music competitions the festival is so well known for? Winfield is home to a series of contests for a variety of instruments including autoharp, fiddle, mountain dulcimer, 5-string banjo, hammered dulcimer, and mandolin. But perhaps the most widely recognized are the International Fingerstyle Guitar and the National Flatpicking Guitar competitions.

With fingerstyle guitar as one of my personal passions, and my past experience participating in it, I have a keen interest in the fingerstyle guitar competition. As a festival performer, however, I wasn't allowed to compete this year. I must admit it was a different experience not waiting for hours with adrenalin pumping through my system- for my turn to compete. More relaxing, yes - but not quite as much fun.

The fingerstyle competition is always interesting, as there are really no restrictions on the style of music the contestants play. You're never sure what you might hear next; perhaps a Travis picker, perhaps a jazz player, maybe some two-hand tapping, or just as likely- a classical or flamenco guitarist. Phew! You just never know.

As always, there were many memorable performances by both professional and amateur musicians. When the dust finally settled, this year's fingerstyle title went to Shane Adkins (Alabama), a solid Travis style picker. Second and third place were awarded to Dan Bliss (Kansas) and Doug Smith (Oregon), respectively.

The National Flatpicking Championship is the granddaddy of all the Winfield competitions. It was the original contest, founded in 1972 for the first festival, and remains the longest running. It is the flagship competition receiving top billing on t-shirts, posters and signs around the town and festival, although this year, for the first time, I was pleased to see a sign that squeezed in a reference to the fingerstyle competition.

The flatpicking guitar competition tends to place more of an emphasis on the traditional bluegrass style of picking and again, it draws a wide range of passionate competitors. This year, top honors went to Joe Smart (Washington), with Tyler Grant (Tennessee) and Roy Curry (Tennessee) placing second and third respectively.

As in the past, the whole weekend flew by so quickly, it's hard to believe it's over again for another year. But you know, people are already marking their calendars for September 2006. For me it was a wonderful experience, and one I hope to be able to repeat from the performer's side of the microphone.