It was a foot-stompin’, tune-swappin’ day Saturday, March 14, as top musicians from around the Northwest gathered to compete in the 60th annual Oregon State Open Fiddle Contest, held at the Lebanon Mennonite Church.
Dozens of fiddlers, from small fry – there’s a division with that name – to aged veterans got up on the stage to show off their best stuff on the strings, as lively tunes filled the church sanctuary for an appreciative crowd that at times nearly filled the room.
The youngest was Loulu Guptill of Keizer, who’s 5. On the other end was Jerry Parks, 85, of Lebanon, one of the organizers, who seemed to be in on just about every act – either on the fiddle or playing backup to other contestants on the guitar, often with his wife Linda on her double bass.
This year was the 60th for the event, hosted by the Oregon Oldtime Fiddlers Association.
Contestants played three numbers – an upbeat breakdown, followed by a waltz and then a tune of their choosing of a different genre than the first two.
Overall champion was Celeste Johnson of Portland, who, along with other top Oregon finishers in each division, was certified to move on to the national championships June 21-27 in Weiser, Idaho, with their entry fee paid and the opportunity to college in special certification divisions.
Local winners included Isaac Helland, recently of Salem, but whose family resides in Lebanon, who was the top performer in the young adult division. Saxon Ropp of Lebanon was fourth and Kiersten Doggett of Albany was fifth in the division that featured the most local talent in the top spots.
Robert Waterhouse of Lebanon was third in the Senior division
Starr McMullen of Corvallis won the Senior-Senior division in which Jerry Parks was fifth. Donna Wynn of Springfield was third.
Doug Fleener of Eugene placed right behind Johnson in the Champion competition.
Fleener won the Entertainment category, in which contestants only performed one number with an emphasis on crowd appeal. Helland was third, behind Donna Reuter of Hood River.
