Wayne County Fair: Fiddle contest a treat for players and listeners

WOOSTER – The fiddle contest at the Wayne County Fair featured an abundance of talented players of a wide range of ages, from a trio of competitors 12 and under, to a quartet of senior division players over 50.

And while the fiddlers were vying for cash prizes and having fun demonstrating their skills, the true winners were the hundreds of fans in the Coliseum Sunday afternoon who heard hoe down music, waltzes and musician's choice.

Steve Bing of Cincinnati, who competed in both the fiddle senior division and the new banjo contest which debuted this year, praised the quality of musicians on hand, pointed out that 13-year-old Owen Hoopes of Malvern was probably one of the best fiddle players of any age.

Owen wowed the audience with his skills, but finished second to Ohio's state champion fiddler Kerry Varble of Salem who took home the top cash prize, $200, for winning the open contest.

Owen settled for second place ($150) and Loudonville's Laura Conley took third ($100). Sarah Haiss of Marshallville finished fourth, winning $75 for her efforts.

"He's really good," Varble said of Owen. "There were several really good players here. And a nice crowd. There were more people here that at the grand masters competition."

Varble added with a laugh that she's been playing the fiddle a lot longer than Owen, drawing on her 30-plus years of experience.

Owen said he is having a lot of fun playing at various venues this summer. He began playing violin when he was 5 and has continued to improve his skills over the past eight years. He began playing classical violin but has really taken to playing the fiddle the past few years.

"It's a lot of fun. I get to meet a lot of great musicians," he said.

Fiddlers from all over

There were many great musicians in Wooster Sunday, including 18-year-old Nicole Tressler of Canton, Michigan, who won the 12-18 age group category top prize of $125. It was the third time Tressler has competed here at Wooster, and the third time she has won. Mitch Quillen took the second prize of $100.

"We don't have many fiddle events in Michigan," she said. "I usually start practicing with my waltz to warm up my fingers, and then I go into my hoe down."

She said she was drawn to the fiddle when she heard a player in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. She thought that's what she wanted to do. She applied her classical training to learning fiddle skills, and she's been playing fiddle ever since.

"I started out in orchestra playing classical violin," she said. "In classical, there is a strict set of rules, and everything has to be the same way every time. In fiddling, you have more room for improvisation, to change things up and rephrase things the way you want. It's so loose, it's more fun in its own way. That's what makes playing the fiddle so much fun."

Tressler came into Wooster Saturday night to take in the fair after performing at an Italian-American Festival in Dayton earlier in the day.

James Dunnivan of Hartville competed in the open class with an accompanist, Michael Duncan of Cleveland, whom he met recently at the Hale Farm Civil War reenactment activity.

This was their first time playing at Wooster.

"We've been playing together for about a month," Dunnivan said. "We played a little square dance they had at Hale Farm. It was kind of a historical performance there."

Dunnivan said he showed a horse last year and learned about the fiddle contest then, but was too late to sign up. He wasn't going to miss the opportunity this year.

"It's all about playing and having a good time," he added. "I love the old-style music. I've been playing the fiddle about 16 years, starting out playing classical violin."

Competition growing again

Event coordinator Justin Wallace was a longtime judge before taking over the contest. He said tone, timing and presentation are what the judges are looking for in a competition. The skill level of the the tunes they choose is also an important factor.

Wallace was happy with the size of this year's contest, (18 fiddlers, four banjo players). There used to be upward of 30 players before COVID-19, and numbers really dropped off the last few years.

Tessa Underwood, 10, of Sterling, Ohio, won the 12 and under contest, taking home the $100 first prize.

She is a five-year veteran of the fiddle, competing at her second county fair. She said she took up the fiddle because her mom played, and she liked listening to her. Melissa Underwood was a competitor in the open competition.

Caleb Gundy finished second ($75) and Elliott Wright finished third ($50).

Kay Lorson of Dover won the 55 and over first prize of $150. Steve Bing took second ($125), while Donna Bing placed third ($75). Gary Starr finished fourth winning $50.

Lorson said she's been fiddling for 15 years or so, and really enjoys playing.

"I feel like I'm just getting my feet wet," she said.

Joe Steiner of Bucyrus won the first banjo contest, taking home the top prize of $125. Joe Wayne finished second ($75) and Steve Bing took third ($50).

"I enjoy playing blue grass and that kind of music," Steiner said. "I heard they were having this contest this year, and I figured I'd come out and support them."

Dan Singleton of Wadsworth said he stumbled across the fiddle contest a few years ago, and when he heard they were adding the banjo this year, he was happy to join in the fun, since that's his instrument.

The banjo players said they enjoy mixing it up with the fiddle players. It's a good time playing together and making the foot-stomping, hand-clapping music, as the appreciative audience enjoyed Sunday afternoon.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Fiddle contest a treat for players and listeners at Wayne County Fair