The International Whistlers Convention was an international competition for whistlers that originated from a folk festival in Louisburg, North Carolina. It was started in 1980 as the National Whistlers Convention, the first whistling convention in the world. Although mostly held in Louisburg, the convention was occasionally held in Japan and China. In addition to competitions, the convention also inducted individuals into the Whistlers Hall of Fame in addition to competitions. The convention was featured in the documentary Pucker Up: The Fine Art of Whistling. The last International Whistlers Convention was held in Louisburg in 2013. In 2016, the Japanese Whistling Confederation started a successor event, the biennial World Whistlers Convention.

The Franklin County and Louisburg College Folk Festival was founded in 1970 by Louis de Hart to celebrate traditional music, dance, and crafts of the American southeast.^[1][2] The festival was held at Louisburg College in Louisburg, North Carolina.^[3] For the original composition competition at the 1974 festival, Darrell Williams from Durham, North Carolina whistled his original composition of “Little River Blues” instead of singing; he won the category that year and again in 1975, whistling.^[4][2][3]

In 1976, de Hart added a separate whistling competition to the festival;^[5] this was the start of the Whistling Contest.^[4][3] Later, the whistling competition was split from the fall folk festival and became an annual spring event.^[5] It was the first whistling convention in the world.^[6]

By 1980. the event's new sponsor was the Franklin County Arts Council; the council was established by de Hart who served as its executive director.^[7][8] The name of the event was changed to the National Whistlers Convention (NWC) in 1980; a name that was trademarked.^[7][2] The NWC received funding from the North Carolina Arts Council.^[9] Judges for the competition consisted of professional musicians, professors of musical theory, and music composers; different judges were used each year to eliminate any advantage for prior winners.^[10][5]

Starting in 1981, distinguished guest whistlers were invited to the NWC where they performed and conducted workshops. The guest whistlers for 1982 were In Carlin Morton of Fort Myers Beach, Florida; Fred Newman of New York City; Jason Serinus of San Francisco, California who was noted as the "voice" of Woodstock in Peanuts! cartoons, and Maury York of Greenville, North Carolina.^[7]

In 1981 and 1982, the NWC was held in the Franklin County Courthouse in Louisburg.^[4] The event included the whistling contest, a concert with guest whistlers, and the Whistling Museum.^[4] In addition to the musical competition, awards were also given for bird calls, animal sources, and the loudest whistle.^[4] The grand champion for both years was Tobe Sherrill, a student from Greensboro, North Carolina.^[4] In 1983, the NWC expanded from two days to four days.^[2] This allowed it to include seminars, a banquet, and exhibitions.^[8] It became a tradition for the grand champion to perform on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.^[11]

In 1984, a new competition category for children twelve years old and under was added to the NWC.^[12][13] Amy Rose of Louisburg was the first children's champion.^[12] She was the children's champion again in 1985 and received national publicity, including performing on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.^[12] She went on to become the teen champion in later years.^[14]

In 1989 and 1990, 3,000 people participated in the preliminary round of the NWC.^[3][15] Each contestant was required to perform both a classical and popular piece.^[3] Contestants competed in the preliminary round by submitting a tape.^[16] Those performers were cut to 40 who would compete during the IWC.^[15] The NWC ruled that grand champions had to take a year off after two wins in a row.^[3][17][18] In 1990, it became a tradition for the grand champion to perform on Late Night with David Letterman.^[19] In 1996, the NWC began selecting both male and female grand champions.^[20]

In 1997, the National Grand Champion award was changed to the International Grand Champion, changing the event to the International Whistlers Convention (IWC).^[20] Its first grand champion was Desgagne.^[20] Changes in 1998 included expanded to two days and an evening of competition, requiring the competitors to prepare as many as eight songs instead of the usual two songs.^[20]

In 2000, more of the competitors were professional whistlers.^[16] The main competition divisions were adult, teen, child, and allied arts.^[16][9] Allied arts included people who whistled with their fingers or through ventriloquism.^[16] One reporter described the IWC: "The sounds that pour forth from the whistlers are astonishing; cascading warbles, bell tones, tremolos and trills, syncopated crescendos, octaves of excitement."^[21]

During the 2001 convention, David Heilbroner and Katie Davis filmed the documentary Pucker Up: The Fine Art of Whistling.^[22][23][24] By 2003, a newspaper reporter noted, "Louisburg has pulled off a neat trick of civic identity. It has created an annual event that is odd enough to attract wide attention, yet serious enough to be treated respectfully."^[25]

After the 2005 IWC, Franklin County Arts Council realized that it needed to plan for the increasing number of contestants and crowds, including expanded spaces and additional funding for the IWC.^[20] As a result, there was not an IWC in 2006.^[26]

When the IWC returned in 2007, it had record numbers of competitors and audience members.^[20] In 2008, the 35th IWC was held in Japan.^[27] The Japan Whistlers' Federation hosted the event with the assistance of the Franklin County Arts Council.^[28][20] The IWC returned to Louisburg in 2009, where it set a record for the number of participants and drew participants from Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, North America, and South America.^[29] The 37th IWC was held in China in 2010 and was sponsored by the Qingdao Whistling Institute of China, against setting records for the number of participants and audience.^[20][27]

The Franklin County Arts Council board of directors voted to discontinue its sponsorship of the IWC in the spring of 2010.^[20] Louisburg was declared the permanent home of the IWC in 2012.^[1] That year, the IWC was sponsored by the Franklin County Historical Society.^[20] The society formed the Franklin County IWC (FCIWC), a special committee that was supposed to transition into an independent organization responsible for the IWC.^[20] Patricia Howell replaced de Hart as the director of the IWC.^[1] However, the FCIWC went defunct on July 24, 2012.^[20] The historical society again sponsored the IWC for 2013, the 40th anniversary of the whistling contest.^[20] This was the last IWC hosted in Louisburg.^[6] A 41st IWC was held on April 6, 2014, after which the historical society ceased to be the sponsor of the event.^[30]

The Japanese Whistling Confederation started the World Whistlers Convention (WWC) in 2016 as a successor to the International Whistlers Convention.^[31] WWC is held in Kawasaki, Kanagawa every two years.^[31] It has adopted the numbering system from the IWC, calling its 2024 event the "46th World Whistlers Convention".^[32] However, a quote from de Hart on the WWC website, clearly indicates that the WWC was a new event, not a transfer of the IWC operation.^[31]

De Hart founded the National Whistlers Museum which opened in 1981.^[7] It maintained a collection of recordings, memorabilia, and some 300 whistles.^[7][4][33] The museum housed the Whilsters Hall of Fame Awards.^[9] It organized displays for the NWC.^[4]

The Whistlers Hall of Fame Award was introduced at the 13th annual National Whistling Convention in 1986.^[20] Its first inductee was Agnes Woodward, founder of the California School of Artistic Whistling.^[20][34]

The Hall of Fame Award was given to a living or deceased whistler with "a history of achievement in the art of whistling with long-range efforts and success in promotion and production of performances, and materials to support the arts, such as recordings, appearances in concert halls, coverage by media, and awards as a performer that may be whistling or associated with whistling."^[35]

Following is a list of the members of the Whistlers Hall of Fame.

• 1986 – Agnes Woodard (California)^[35]
• 1987 – Bing Crosby (California)^[36]
• 1988 – Lillian Williams (Arkansas)^[37]
• 1989 – Don Robertson (California) and Fred Lowery (New York City, New York)^[36]
• 1990 – Purves Pullen (California)^[37]
• 1991 – Elmo Tanner (Florida)^[36]
• 1992 – Robert Larson (Minnesota)^[38][39]
• 1993 – Alice J. Shaw (New York)^[9]
• 1994 – Roy Thoreson (Alberta, Canada)^[40][41]
• 1995 – Elmer Mullen (North Carolina) and Ronnie Ronalde (New Zealand)^[42]
• 1996– Mitch Hider (Oregon)^[37]
• 1997 – Joel Brandon (Chicago, Illinois)^[43][44]
• 1998 – Milton Briggs (California)^[45]
• 1999 – Betty Sylliaasen (California)^[46][47]
• 2000 – Marge Carlson (California)^[37]
• 2001 – Mary F. Herndon (Missouri)^[48]
• 2002 – Dick Shaw (Florida)^[49]
• 2003 – Jason Serinus (California)^[50]
• 2004 – Petty Ediger (Oregon)^[51]
• 2005 – Barry Rector (British Columbia, Canada)^[52]
• 2006 – Madeleine Drummond (Pennsylvania)^[26]
• 2007 – Steven Herbst (New York City, New York)^[53]
• 2008 – Bobbejaan Schoepen (Belgium)^[54]
• 2009 – Ronald "Ron" McCroby (Ohio)^[29]
• 2010 – Quingyao Cao (China)^[55]
• 2011 – Roger Whittaker (England)^[56]
• 2012 – Chris Ullman (Virginia)^[57]
• 2013 – Linda Hamilton (Toronto, Canada)^[58]

The Lillian Williams Award was introduced at the annual National Whistling Convention in 1986 where it was presented to Purves Pullen.^[20] The award honored Lillian Williams a musician, humorist, and whistler, known as "America's Whistling Sweetheart".^[2][59] Later, it was called the Entertainer of the Year Award, presented in honor of Lillian Williams.^[60]

Following is a list of winners of the Entertainer of the Year Award.

• 1986 – Purves Pullen (Nut Tree, California)^[60]
• 1987 – Milton Briggs (Carmichael, California)^[61]
• 1988 – Roy Thoreson (Calgary, Alberta, Canada)^[62]
• 1989 – Robert Larson (Minneapolis, Minnesota)^[14]
• 1990 – Marge Carlson (Fullerton California)^[60]
• 1991 – Robert "Bob" Larson (Minneapolis, Minnesota)^[60]
• 1992 – Barry Rector (British Columbia, Canada)^[38][39]
• 1993 – Jason Serinus (California)^[60]
• 1994 – Mitch Hider (Oregon)^[60]
• 1995 – Betty Sylliaasen (California)^[47]
• 1996 – Fred Newman (New York)^[60]
• 1997– Greg N. Smith (North Carolina)^[60]
• 1998 – Mary Frances Herndon (Missouri)^[60]
• 1999 – Christopher Ullman (Virginia)^[60]
• 2000 – Patty Ediger (Oregon)^[59]
• 2001 – Michael Cooney (Alberta, Canada)^[48]
• 2002 – Stanley Dalrymple (North Carolina)^[63]
• 2003 – Steven Herbst (New York City, New York)^[64]              
• 2004 – Steven Herbst (New York City, New York)^[18] and Carole Skinner (South Dakota)^[60]
• 2005 – Phyllis Heil (North Carolina) and Steven Herbst (New York City, New York)^[52][65][66]
• 2006 – Geert Chatrou (Netherlands) and Phyllis Heil (North Carolina)^[26][67]
• 2007 – Tom Bryant (Florida) and Phyllis Heil (North Carolina)^[53][67]
• 2008 – Kimiko Wakiyama (Japan) and Geert Chatrou (Netherlands)^[54]
• 2009 – Phyllis Heil (North Carolina) and Sean Lomax (Pennsylvania)^[56][29]
• 2010 – Geert Chatrou (Netherlands) and Phyllis Heil (North Carolina)^[55]
• 2011 – Tormod Rogne (Norway) and Linda Hamilton (Canada)^[56]
• 2012 – Carole Anne Kaufman (California) and Michael Bravin (Maryland)^[57]
• 2013 – Joe Sodano (New Jersey) and Phyllis Heil (North Carolina)^[20][68]
• 2014 - Akiko Shibata (Fukushima, Japan)^[69]