The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
FIDDLIN’ AROUND
44th annual music contest returns to Hurlburt Park on July 14
ROXBURY — A lot of pickin’, fiddlin’, grinnin’ and dancin’ can be found next Saturday at Roxbury’s Hurlburt Park at 18 Apple Lane beginning at 2 p.m. when the 44th annual Pickin’ and Fiddlin’ Contest will be held.
More than four decades ago, the Roxbury Volunteer Fire Department, in conjunction with its annual “Old Roxbury Days,” sponsored a contest to display the skills of musicians playing country and bluegrass music.
Over the years, this contest has grown and attracts large crowds.
“The event has been very well received over the years and we’re attracting more performers each year as well as folks come to watch and listen to the music,” said Andrew Kotas, one of the contest’s organizers.
“Members of the Roxbury Volunteer Fire Department and Roxbury Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary work hard to make this such a success. It attracts all ages and we usually have between 1,000 and 2,000 attendees, depending upon the weather. Most of the performers are from the Northeast, but we get some people from further away.”
A fiddle is a bowed string instrument, similar to a violin, or, in fact an actual violin. The act of fiddle playing, or fiddling, refers to various styles of music the practitioners perform, many styles being traditional folk music that is often taught by ear rather than taught though written music. It became popular in rural areas, especially in the Appalachian states, where it was considered an enjoyable form of entertainment.
According to the website “National Oldtime Fiddlers’ Contest and Festival,” fiddle contests first appeared in the U.S. in November of 1736. The first recorded fiddle contest was held as part of a St. Andrew’s Day celebration. The best fiddler won an Italian-made Cremona fiddle. The next year, only the first 20 fiddlers to sign up were allowed to play. After they played their tunes, they were asked to play another tune for entertainment. Sometimes fiddle contests were simply groups of local fiddlers getting together to determine who was the “best” fiddler. At times, prizes were awarded, but many fiddlers saw that as less important than the prestige attached to winning the contest. The fiddlers and the audience took these contests seriously; it was a matter of great local pride for a county to have a champion fiddler.
The website states with more and more musicians
entering contests, and the need to have playoff contests was growing longer than simple one-day affairs. In Texas, some contests were running as long as eight days. The Atlanta Fiddlers’ Convention, began in 1913 and became an annual contest.
In 1926, Henry Ford, who was greatly interested in old-time fiddling, held contests at his Ford dealerships in hundreds of communities. Ford’s promotion of fiddling helped contribute to its growing popularity on radio. So, Henry was about more than cars.
In 1938, Joe Woods, the then-national champion, along with Leslie Keith, “neither of whom had any money or prospects for work,” states the website, rented a park for $15, called it the Grand Ole Opry and invited the wellknown Arthur Smith to come for $100 and bus fare. They promoted their contest on the radio, 27 fiddlers showed up, 9,400 people attended and those in attendance judged the fiddlers by an applause meter.
By 1946, the contests had changed to “Fiddling Showdowns,” which were “more stage shows than real contests in the strict sense,” but they helped maintain the popularity of fiddling. In some contests every fiddler had to play the same tune, often a common one known by all, such as “Arkansas Traveler” or “Sally Goodin.” If a fiddler was suspected of having formal training, he was disqualified. The prize often went to the person who played in the most authentic style, and that was a matter of personality as much as fiddling skill, according to the website. Judges looked for things like trick playing, singing and joking. One contestant was heard to say of the winning fiddler, “he didn’t out-fiddle me, he out-hollered me!”
“Straw beaters” were allowed at the earlier contests. These were assistants who stood behind the fiddler while he was playing and used straws to beat on the fiddle strings for additional rhythm. Because of controversy resulting from trick fiddling, hollering and other gimmicks, the move to judge contests on a more strict assessment of playing skills began.
By 1951, contests were being held as events by themselves, not necessarily attached to another celebration.
Musical categories at the Roxbury event will include: Old Time Fiddle; Old Time Banjo; Mandolin; Trick and Fancy Fiddle (interestingly enough); Finger Picking and Flat Picking Guitar; Bluegrass Banjo and Band Playoff. Bands will be interspersed between categories. Prizes total more than $3,400 and were donated by sponsors.
“The Band and Junior categories are very popular,” Kotas said. “This year, we are holding a 50/50 raffle, as well another raffle for an autographed book from Charlie Daniels. All proceeds benefit the Roxbury Volunteer Fire Department. Money raised over the years has varied. We’ve had years, due to bad weather, of just covering our expenses, and other years when we netted approximately $10,000.”
Admission is $12, with children under 10 admitted free. Free parking is available.
Gates open at noon and contestant registration starts at 12:30 p.m.
The rain date for the event is July 15 at noon.
Attendees are invited to bring lawn chairs, blankets, picnic baskets and their own beverages. Food, refreshments and crafts will be available for purchase. Organizers ask that no dogs be brought to the event.
For information, call 860-354-5921, or visit www.roxburyct.com.