GLENMONT — When it comes to outdoor festivals, there’s no heartier group of fans than lovers of bluegrass music. And that’s a good thing, because Friday night flung heavy, intermittent rains at the small but determined crowd at the 2008 Mohican Bluegrass Festival, being held all weekend at the Mohican Wilderness Campground on Wally Road between Loudonville and Greer.

The Partners in Tourism advocacy group of the Knox County Convention and Visitors Bureau met at the festival to highlight the event’s stature.

“I think it’s another opportunity for those interested in tourism to gather at what is a relatively little-known event of national stature,” said Pat Crow, president of the Knox County CVB. He cited the caliber of artists performing at Mohican, which have included many great names over the years, including the final Ohio performance by the father of bluegrass music, Bill Monroe, in 1994.

Partners in Tourism president Matt Starr said it was important to draw attention to an event such as the Mohican Bluegrass Festival, particularly as tourism is becoming more and more important as a business in Knox County.

“This helps us connect more with Loudonville,” Starr said, “which is important because in the Loudonville area, there are 1,800 camp sites, and all of those people are looking for things to do when they camp here.”

Knox County Parks District director Kim Marshall was enjoying her first visit to the festival.

“I love bluegrass, so I’m really excited to get out here tonight,” Marshall said.

She added that Mohican Wilderness is a recreation partner with the park district, helping create special events to draw people up to the area dually designated as the Mohican River Scenic Waterway and the Wally Road Scenic Byway. She saluted Mohican Wilderness owner Ken Woebecke, whom she said has been a dynamo of activity over the years.

Woebecke has improved the campgrounds and assembled renovated historical buildings at an attached attraction known as Kenhurst Valley, which highlights the rich history of the area. Highlights includiethe fact that Wally Road basically runs along the course of the Walhonding Railroad bed, which operated in the area from the late 1800s to the mid-1930s.

“I’ve been up here before,” said Partners in Tourism member Ann Laudeman. “But it looks very different these days, more open and accessible.”

Christine Aust was excited about the chance to hear a less familiar kind of music.

“That’s one of the things I miss about living in Pittsburgh,” Aust said. “There was different music somewhere every night. It’s here, too. You just have to look for it, at events like this.”