The Annual North Cascades Oldtime Fiddlers Contest will be thrown again in the beautiful Methow Valley at the Winthrop Park Bandshell, on Saturday August 23rd. Championship fiddlers and top notch acoustic musicians from all over the Northwest and as far away as Texas, North Carolina, Georgia, Colorado and Canada have competed here.

Brad Pinkerton, contest chair, has attended and competed in oldtime fiddle contests since 1970. "We changed some of the standard fiddle contest rules to loosen our contest up and make it more fun for both the fiddlers and the audience. At most Northwest contests the fiddlers have a strict four minute time limit within which the contestant must play three tunes; a hoedown, a waltz, and a tune of choice. Because of the time limit the audience is told not to applaud in between the tunes, just at the end of the round. At our contest there is no time limit for a contestants round and the audience is strongly encouraged to holler their encouragement to the fiddlers during the tunes and to just generally whoop it up!

We also allow as many accompanists as the fiddler wants, so the dads and moms can play along with hot-shot accompanists behind their fiddling kids. And we allow cross tuning, so you can hear some of the old archaic tunes.

Oldtime fiddling is a living folk art, one of the last. Some of these old tunes are 300 years old and have been passed down from generations. Where else could you see a kid playing a tune in 2008 that his great-grandpa played in 1902? The music is learned by ear, not sheet music. The oldtime fiddling harks back to when music wasn't made by celebrities, but by your uncle and neighbors. At a fiddle contest there are no "stars" kept separate back stage. You can meet and greet some of the best fiddlers in the world here. It's just a different music scene.

Danita Hartz three time National Champion of Meridian, Idaho remarked, "In some contests, it's a more sterile environment. People are just listening for a mistake. I think at this one, people have a lot more fun. Everything about the contest was just a laid back atmosphere, and everybody was just having a good time, the judges, the contestants, the accompanists and the audience." she says of the N.C.O.F. Contest.

In addition to the fun of fiddling, a big draw for the fiddlers is the prize money. This is the best paying dinky contest in the country. All of the prize money is generously donated by local merchants and individuals.

The Fiddlers Contest is held in the beautiful outdoor setting of the Winthrop Park. Bring your lawn chairs & blankets. Seating will be available for seniors under a shade tent.

Adults: $12
Seniors: $6
Kids 12 & under are FREE