High Plains Fiddlefest

A Sunday on Ute Avenue

The fiddlers gather at the Elbert County Fairgrounds, 95 Ute Avenue in Kiowa, on a Sunday in early August while the county fair is running. The day opens with registration, then an open stage: an hour when anyone with a fiddle can play before the contest starts. Judging begins at 11 a.m. Local and national fiddlers compete for cash prizes.

The hours have shifted a little from year to year. The 2016 listing put registration at 9 a.m., the open stage from 10 to 11, and the contest from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. In 2019 and 2022 the open stage ran from 9 to 10 and the day closed at 4 p.m. In 2025 registration did not open until 10 a.m., and the competition ran from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. The Colorado Old Time Fiddlers’ Association’s notice for that year said, “The public is welcome and encouraged to come enjoy this long tradition at the Elbert County Fair.” The fair’s own exhibitor page listed the 2026 contest, under the short name H.P. Fiddle Fest, for Sunday, August 2.

The contest is part of a larger week. The Elbert County Fair advertises free admission and free parking. The 2025 fair ran from July 26 to August 3. Writing for Colorado Community Media, Haley Lena listed the fiddle fest among that year’s music, along with the Walker Williams Band on opening day, the WMW Band, and BlackHawk. She noted that the fair has no traditional carnival with large rides. It has a free Kiddie Corral with small rides, bounce houses, and face painting. Through the week, young 4-H members show dogs, hogs, horses, goats, rabbits, lambs, poultry, beef, and dairy animals. There is team roping and a parade. The Young Gun Rodeo offers mini bronc and mini bull riding, youth barrel racing, and mutton busting.

Two organizers and three names

The Elbert County Fair and the Colorado Old Time Fiddlers’ Association run the contest together. The association was formed in March 2002 as a nonprofit. Its stated purpose is promoting, preserving, and teaching the public about old-time fiddling, “with an emphasis on Texas-style contest fiddling.” Its own account credits past president Denice Carter and “a dedicated group of volunteers” with founding it. Its members stage the Colorado Fiddle Championships at the National Western Stock Show in Denver. They also travel the state helping towns “from the mountains to the plains” coordinate fiddle contests at local fairs and festivals. The 2016 listing for Kiowa named Marcia deWerd as the contact.

The contest has gone by more than one name. The association listed it as the High Plains Fiddle Fest in 2016 and as the Kiowa Fiddle Contest in 2019. In 2022 it appeared as the 25th Annual High Plains Fiddlefest.

From Vegetable Day to Kiowa

The fair that hosts the contest is much older. According to the Elbert County Historical Society & Museum, it began on October 2, 1891, when Elizabeth held a one-day event billed as Vegetable Day. A foot of snow fell the night before, and the day was still counted a success. It had a large exhibit of locally grown vegetables, a dairying section, and a display of livestock. The next year the event ran two days in late September under the name Elbert County Fair.

For twelve years after that, the fair was held only now and then. In 1904 it became an annual event in the town of Elbert. Most of the activity took place east of town, on the flats along Kiowa Creek. The Colorado & Southern Railroad offered discounted fares that brought people out from Denver and Colorado Springs for the day. Visitors picnicked, looked over the farm exhibits, watched horse racing, or caught a baseball game against a rival town. In the 1920s the fair moved for a time to Matheson, where the grounds had a racetrack and grandstands. In 1934 it was reorganized around 4-H and moved to Kiowa, where it has been held ever since.