Idaho state fiddle champions earn their spots

Competitive fiddlers from around Idaho, and even one from western Oregon, were in town April 8-9 to play for the state’s top titles.

 With just over 50 contest entries, twin fiddling and a bluegrass concert featuring Wilder and special fiddling guest, Rue Frisbee, kicked off the weekend Friday evening. 

 It was followed by a full slate of contest divisions starting early Saturday morning. The state contest culminated with the Open Championship and when the dust settled, 17-year-old Grace Partridge, Rigby, was crowned Idaho’s 2022 State Champion.

 Partridge, 17, is no stranger to contest fiddling or Weiser. She holds four National Oldtime Fiddlers’ Contest titles, winning her first in the 2012 Small Fry division. She has consistently finished in the top five of the divisions she has entered in Weiser. 

 A student of NOTFC perennials, Joe and Jacie Sites, Partridge has competed in numerous big-name contests across the country, as well as meeting and jamming with high-caliber musicians all along the way.

 When the scoring was complete, second through sixth places went respectively to McKaela Shippy-Ruggs, Lanni Shippy, Eliza Beck, Christin Newhall, and Rachel Beck.

 All certified contest divisions played out Saturday afternoon, with the winners of those divisions not only earning titles, but their NOTFC entry fees paid if they decide to enter this June’s contest.

 Division placings:

 Small Fry: Violet Fenner, first; Emily Fewkes, second; Roscoe Brooks, third.

 Junior-Junior: Jetta Brooks, first; Adrienne Jensen, second; Andrew Beck, third; Kambri Jensen, fourth; Hannah Anderson, fifth.

 Junior: Jaidynn Lee, first; McKenna Jensen, second; Norah Brooks, third; Eliza Beck, fourth; Rachel Beck fifth.

 Young Adult: Libby Rogers, first; Jared Davis, second.

 Adult: Jason Fewkes, first; Justin Boeck, second.

 Senior: Martin Fewkes, first.

 Senior-Senior: Starr McMullen, first.

 Twin Fiddling: Lee/Rogers, first; M.R. Beck/E. Beck, second; M. Jensen/A. Jensen, third.

 During morning contests, younger fiddlers in Small Fry, Junior-Junior, and Junior novice and intermediate divisions got their competitive feet wet, using the competition to develop and hone themselves for future contests.

 Novice and Intermediate winners:

 Small Fry Novice: Melodie Moore, first; Quincy Cotterell, second; Dayton Davis, third.

 Small Fry Intermediate: Ethan Tetter, first; Ryland Milburn, second; Kason Milburn, third; Trevor Jensen, fourth.

 Novice Junior-Junior: Ella Alkire, first; Lucy Alkire, second; Lyla Woodland, third; Isabel Boeck, fourth; Saylor Davis, fifth; Ryker Davis, sixth.

 Intermediate Junior-Junior: Creed Milburn, first.

 Novice Junior: Tiffany Clemons, first; Morgan Jensen, second; Sarah Blakesley, third; and Hailey Bennison, fourth.

 Intermediate Junior: Heathe Estes, first; Lu Ella Fenner, second.

 Contest Manager Emma Beck believes the Snake River Heritage Center auditorium venue is perfect as the site for future state contests. Slocum Hall, next door, is the home office of the NOTFC. Both are historic buildings, first established as part of the Intermountain Institute. Slocum has been revitalized through the efforts of volunteers over the past several years. It is now available to host any number of arts-related workshops and gatherings.

 This being the first time for Weiser to host the state championships, local history buffs appreciate the location and timing of the event, as it harkens to the 1953 roots of the NOTFC. Sponsored and cultivated through the Weiser Chamber of Commerce, then-Chamber Director Blaine Stubblefield introduced the fiddle contest idea in the fall of 1952. 

 The first contest was introduced as an entertainment break during what was an annual Square Dance Festival in town. That first contest drew competitors from throughout this end of the Treasure Valley, as well as up and down the state. Within a few years, the Fiddle Festival stood on its own apart from the Square Dance Festival, and in Idaho’s territorial centennial year, 1963, the National Oldtime Fiddlers’ Contest and Festival was born.