Cancelling Weiser fiddle festival a ‘tough decision’

The board of directors recently cancelled the National Oldtime Fiddlers’ Contest for 2020, citing the many uncertainties surrounding the continuing coronavirus pandemic.
 It is the first time Weiser’s signature event held every full third week in June has been cancelled in its 67 years. The 2021 NOTFC will be held June 20-26.
 Executive director Sandy Cooper said there were many factors that went into the decision during an emergency board meeting last week.
 So much has to be done in advance of the festival, including making financial commitments, that it was imperative that the fiddle festival board made a decision on the 2020 event.
 There were growing inquiries from fiddle festival fans and contestants across the country asking about the status of this year’s contest. Many of the 230 or so contest contestants are in school or college and it’s unknown how the school situations will work out.
 “This is the only decision we could make. It was not without a lot of thought,” Cooper said.
 Putting on the fiddle festival is also a major financial commitment for the nonprofit NOTFC. To break even financially, the festival has to sell a lot of tickets for the daily competitions. If the coronavirus pandemic is still an issue in June that would deter fans and contestants from traveling to Weiser.
 Longtime fiddle festival volunteers and board members Cindy and Bruce Campbell said there were financial considerations and others raised by the board during the discussion.
 Even though the actual contest is the third week of June, organizers have to start ordering trophies, ribbons and other merchandise for the 2020 event months in advance. Once ordered, that merchandise could not be reused for the 2021 contest if the event was cancelled at a later date.
 The coronavirus pandemic has also caused contestants and fans to hesitate on planning for the trip to Weiser. Visitors were hesitant to buy tickets and fiddlers were holding off on registering for the event and booking campsites, Bruce said.
 “Our revenue stream wasn’t there, but our expense stream is there,” he said.
 Cindy said there were also concerns about bringing in visitors from all over the U.S. and even foreign countries to Weiser. Organizers did not want to take any chances that the coronavirus could be brought to Weiser.
 After posting the cancellation on the festival’s Facebook page, the majority of comments were supportive of the decision. The post garnered more than 20,000 views across the nation.
 Those contestants and fans who have already paid registration, tickets or camping fees can have their payments applied to the 2021 event or request a refund. Notify Amy and admin@fiddlecontest.com by April 15.
 Other musical events that bring contestants and fans to Weiser also have been cancelled or rescheduled.
 The annual Weiser bluegrass music camp has been cancelled. The event was scheduled for April 30 through May 3 this year. It is usually four days of classes given by nationally known instructors.
 The banjo camp was scheduled for May 14-17 and has been postponed until the threat of coronavirus has passed. The camp was founded by a group of banjo players and is held at Slocum Hall, the headquarters of the NOTFC.
 The two-day Weiser banjo contest, which has been held every June for the past seven years and immediately precedes the fiddle festival, has also been cancelled, although organizers are talking about doing a virtual contest online.
 The event was created to establish a banjo contest as an important part of the National Oldtime Fiddlers’ Contest and Festival. The banjo contest also provides an opportunity and venue for banjo players at all levels to compete and play in front of a live audience.