NATCHITOCHES – The Louisiana Folklife Center at Northwestern State University will present the program “Fiddlin’ with the Finest! A Celebration of Louisiana Folk Fiddling” on Saturday, June 10 at 2 p.m. at the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest Louisiana History Museum at 800 Front Street in Natchitoches. The event is free and open to the public.
Three past Louisiana State Fiddle Champions, Clancey Stewart, Joe Suchanek, and Ron Yule, will discuss the importance of the folk fiddling tradition with scholars Dr. Susan Roach, professor emerita of English at Louisiana Tech University, and Dr. Shane Rasmussen, director of the Louisiana Folklife Center and professor of English at Northwestern State University. Live music performed throughout the program will include various regional fiddle styles accompanied by demonstrations of fiddle stick playing and twin fiddling. A Q&A session on participating in fiddle competitions will follow. Fiddlers of all skill levels are invited to bring their instruments for a jam session with the invited musicians, which will include guitarist and bassist Sue Blackmon.
Some musicians performing in the program will serve as judges in this year’s Louisiana State Fiddle Championship, which will be part of the 43rd annual Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival on July 22. The Fiddle Championship will be held at 1 p.m. in the Magale Recital Hall. Fiddlers may compete in the championship or non-championship, as well as in the twin fiddle category. Registration is at noon in the first-floor foyer outside Magale Recital Hall. The Fiddle Championship winner will perform on the main stage in Prather Coliseum at 5 p.m.
The event is sponsored by the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest Louisiana History Museum and the Louisiana Folklife Center. Support for the Festival is provided by grants from the Cane River National Heritage Area, Inc., the City of Natchitoches, the Louisiana Division of the Arts Decentralized Arts Fund Program, the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, the Louisiana Office of Tourism, the Natchitoches Historic District Development Commission, the National Endowment for the Arts, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation, the Shreveport Regional Arts Council and the State of Louisiana.
The views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities.
For more information, call the Louisiana Folklife Center at (318) 357-4332, email folklife@nsula.edu or go to nsula.edu/folklife.
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Past Louisiana State Fiddle Champion Clancey Stewart will be among the participants in “Fiddlin’ with the Finest! A Celebration of Louisiana Folk Fiddling” on Saturday, June 10 at 2 p.m. at the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest Louisiana History Museum at 800 Front Street in Natchitoches.
