Weyburn’s 19th annual Old-Tyme Fiddle Contest will have its final competition on Saturday, June 1, at the Upper Grace Hall of Grace United Church.
Registration for fiddlers opens at 11:30 a.m., and the competition will begin at 1 p.m., with seven categories.
This will be the last competition in Weyburn because some of the contest’s major sponsors have stopped their sponsorships, and organizers feel it is no longer viable to continue without their support.
“It’s kind of bittersweet to let it go,” said coordinator Lynn Fawcett, who has organized the competition since the beginning.
She noted she has had many volunteers help her over the years, such as April Sampson, who helped gather prize donations and was the emcee for a number of years, as well as Rita Hallberg, and now both of them are gone.
Carol Ellingson is volunteering to help her, along with Lynn’s daughter Elise, to help the final edition of the contest to go smoothly.
The categories include novice (12 and under); junior (under 18); open class (any age), senior class (65 and over) and the championship class (any age).
Prizes will be awarded to the top three in the championship class, and additional winners will be put into the open class category.
There will also be a twin fiddling category and a novelty class, which are both open classes.
There will be three judges for the competition, including Ray Knorr and Mitch Dureault, both from Regina, and Donna Turk from Forget. Michelle Amy, also from Forget, will be the emcee, and Jackie Walbaum from Stoughton will be the accompanist throughout the competition.
Knorr is a past champion of the Weyburn fiddle contest, and Dureault has competed many times in Weyburn.
Lunch will be provided at the event by the Weyburn Humane Society, which will be a fundraiser for that organization.
Admission to the fiddle contest is $10 for adults, $5 for youths aged 12-18 years, and children under 12 are free.
