Colorado Fiddlers Perform Well at National Oldtime Fiddler's Competition; Local Vi Wickam Brings Home Three Fiddling Awards

Colorado fiddlers have made a strong showing at the national level this past month, competing in in the National Oldtime Fiddlers Contest and Festival. This prestigious fiddling contest takes place every year on the third full week of June in Weiser, Idaho. This year's competition brought fiddlers from all across the United States to compete for the National Grand Champion of Fiddling. Colorado fiddlers brought home ten awards, making it one of the most recognized states at the competition.

Competing in the National Championships means playing at least four rounds and 12 tunes. Each fiddler at the competition plays three tunes: a hoedown, a waltz, and another tune of the players choosing. A maximum of four minutes is allowed for each fiddler and they are judged based on danceability, oldtime style, rhythm, and tone.

Colorado made an impressive showing and came home with many of the division awards, including 6th in the National Grand Champion taken home by Katie Glassman from Denver and two division wins and a Fanciest Fiddler title for local Northern Colorado fiddler Vi Wickam. Wickam teaches at Magnolia Music Studio (http://www.magnoliamusicstudio.com/) in Fort Collins and through the online music school My Talent Forge (https://www.mytalentforge.com/).

The full slate of Colorado fiddlers who earned awards at the event include:

• Katie Glassman, Denver, CO - 1st Swing Fiddle 18 & Over, 6th Grand Champion Division
• Vi Wickam, Fort Collins, CO - 2nd Adult Division and Fanciest Fiddler
• Cody Stadelmaier, Fort Collins, CO - 5th Adult Division
• Natalie Koob, Frisco, CO - 1st Young Adult Division
• Josiah Nelson, Windsor, CO - 3rd Young Adult Division
• Celeste Johnson, Arvada, CO - 1st Junior Division
• Natalie Koob and Nancy Padilla - 1st Twin Fiddling Division
• Vi Wickam and Justin Branum - 4th Twin Fiddling Division
• Josiah Nelson and Celeste Johnson - 5th Twin Fiddling division

Koob also won the RockyGrass fiddle contest since this event.

About National Old Time Fiddler's Contest and Festival
Started back in 1953, The National Oldtime Fiddler's Contest became a nationally recognized event in 1963 with Idaho's Centennial and now certifies fiddling contests in 29 states, including Colorado (http://www.coloradofiddlers.org/). Their hope is to facilitate interest in the art of fiddling and maintain the integrity of fiddling contests. Almost 350 contestants compete in eight divisions each year. Through all these years of fiddling in Weiser, the town of 5,200 people pulls hundreds of volunteers together each year in support of their nationally recognized event. This week of intense competition and endless jamming brings together young and old for the purpose of perpetuating fiddling around the world. The week-long competition also includes musical entertainment nightly by groups from around the U.S. Find out more about the contest and division winners online at http://www.fiddlecontest.org/.

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