This year is the first at the 149-year-old Clark County Fair for the Washington State Fiddle Championship, which drew fiddle players from around the region to compete.
Portland’s Eileen Walter watched some of the opening acts in the competition Sunday, and will try her hand at the senior division contest today.
A lot of fiddle players don’t participate in competitions, she said, but the tradition for them goes back hundreds of years.
Competitions, she said, are really just an excuse to make a show out of playing the fiddle, which is fun for the audience.
“It’s fun. It’s not cutthroat,” she said. “It’s about hearing good music and playing good music and love of the tunes.”
Denice Carter, a fellow player and fiddle and violin teacher, organized the competition. After some convincing by fair organizers, Carter brought in the fiddling contest as part of the fair’s attractions, through the Washington Old Time Fiddler’s Association.
Her students, who form the group Fiddlocity, opened Sunday afternoon’s competition.
The three judges, who are all from out of state, stay sequestered in a building near the stage, so they only hear the music. There are various divisions set up by age, with an open category for the best players.
The top ranked player in each division wins the state championship. Out-of-state players, who are still welcome, win a “Pioneer” award.
Sarah Stixrud, from Birdsview, played in the under-18 division, and has been going to competitions for about 5 years.
Competitions, especially with good accompanying guitarists, are pure fun for a fiddle player, she said.
Her sister, Susy Stixrud, explained that because fiddle music isn’t especially common, these kind of events help keep the music healthy.
“So the tradition’s important, and the contests are how we get together and play, because we’re more spread out,” she said.
If You Go
What: Clark County Fair.
Hours today: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Where: 17402 N.E. Delfel Road, Ridgefield.
Admission: Family Day, ages 7-12, $6.25; adults, $11.25; seniors 62 and older, $9.25; kids 6 and younger, free.
Parking and transportation: Parking, $6 per vehicle; C-Tran shuttle, free from six main transfer stations; $1 discount on full gate admission with coupon from bus driver. Schedules at www.c-tran.com/clarkcountyfair
Carnival: Opens at noon.
ERS free grandstand: Melissa Etheridge, 7 p.m.
Pets: Not permitted, except for service animals or those on exhibit or in competition.
More information: www.clarkcofair.com or call 360-397-6180.
The whole point of these competitions is to keep that old-time fiddling style alive and growing, Sarah said.
“There’s lots of types of music out there, and fiddling is one that you don’t normally end up hearing unless you come to something like this.”
The fiddle championship continues all day today at the The Columbian Community Stage, near the fair food court. This afternoon’s competition will include the final round for the open categories, which will bring out the event’s top fiddlers. Go to wotfafiddlechampionship.wotfa.org for more the event schedule and more information.
