The 72nd National Old Time Fiddlers Contest is underway in Weiser this week, drawing talented musicians from across the country to this small Washington County community.
The annual summer event brings together fiddle players of all ages to compete and share their passion for traditional music near the Oregon-Idaho border.
Hear from the fiddle players as they share their excitement for the event
Fourteen-year-old Tristan Paskvan, competing in the junior division, has been playing the fiddle since he was just 3 years old.
"It's a time where I get to show off some of the things that I've learned over the last year," Paskvan said.
The young musician has performed at prestigious venues including the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee, but still finds joy in the Weiser competition.
"I've come for 7 years and it's really fun to just be able to play for the competition and jam outside of it," Paskvan said.
For many participants, the event is as much about community as competition.
"That's what's wonderful about Weiser week fiddle contest, whatever you want to call it for this week — the stories, the families that get together that you only see once a year," said Joya Hill, secretary of the board of directors for the National Fiddle Contest.
Laurana Roderer, competing in the young adults category, returned to the contest after a 14-year absence, having grown up attending the event.
"It feels like taking a walk down memory lane like as soon as I walked into this room, I felt like I was 12 again, it was crazy. And what was funny is I got just as nervous as I was at 12," Roderer said.
Both Paskvan and Roderer advanced to the second round of their respective divisions, with Roderer choosing music that held special meaning.
"All of my tunes that I'm doing today are tunes that I really wanted to learn when I was little but never had the chance to, so that was kinda fun to give myself an excuse to learn stuff that I never got to learn when I was younger," Roderer said.
The competition continues through Saturday in Weiser.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
