More than 40 people showed up to celebrate the birthday and memory of late-fiddler Tommy Jarrell for a belated celebration held at the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History Annex building Sunday afternoon.

There, guitar player Chester McMillian, 66, who used to play alongside Jarrell, and three of his students, Tanner Hiatt (guitar), Taylor Hiatt (fiddle) and Dustin Johnson (fiddle) serenaded the audience with old-time music.

The belated celebration was moved from Jarrell’s birthday on March 1 to yesterday because of inclement weather last week. Sunday’s celebration included a large birthday cake and a presentation of a Les Blank documentary film about Jarrell called “Sprout Wings and Fly.” Jarrell, a Surry County native, passed away at the age of 83 in 1975.

Sandy Childress of Cana, Va., said she attended the celebration to enjoy a free community event, and to reminisce about the music she grew up listening to as a child.

“The young people were really good,” she said. “It was nice for the museum, there should be more free events like this especially with the way the economy is.”

She said she hopes celebrations such as the free Tommy Jarrell Birthday Concert continue so that the tradition of old-time music can be upheld.

“It’s good to carry on old-timey things like this,” she said after the celebration. “There probably would have been more people here last week, because it was actually his birthday, but the weather shifted things.”

Robert Hoisington said he enjoyed the program and thought it was a great performance.

“This is great, having programs like this helps to get more people to understand what’s here in the museum,” he said. “Programs like this fit into the museum.”

Linda Stanfield, the executive director of the museum, said she was delighted that McMillian would perform with his students at the museum.

“It was a great turn out,” she said.

For more information about the Tommy Jarrell and the old-time music exhibit at the museum, visit www.northcarolinamuseum.org or call the museum at 786-4478.

Contact Erin C. Perkins at eperkins@mtairynews.com or 719-1952.