Well this last weekend I enjoyed going to the Arizona State Fiddle Championships in Payson, Arizona. As always it was a great festival, due in no small part to the efforts of Nelson Beck, who has taken it upon himself to revive the contest. Everything kicked off with a great concert on Friday night featuring the Telluride Band Contest Winners, Run Boy Run, as well as the Hillbenders.

 

The contest itself was a lot of fun, especially for me. I ended up winning the State Championships, my second in a row! Even though I've been competing in contests ever since I was a kid, I still get excited when I win. I also gave a 1-year Gold Membership to FiddlinMike.com to the winners of the Junior, Junior Junior and Small Fry Divisions, as part of their prizes. I think it's really important to help the youngins get excited about fiddling, so I'm just trying to do my part.

 

Fiddle contests are a great way to get plugged into your local fiddling community, to find other fiddle players and teachers, and to get motivated about practicing your tunes. I highly recommend that you all look up your state's Old-Time Fiddlers Association and find out when the next contest is.