The Long Way
Linn County

Oregon State Open Fiddle Contest (OOTFA), Lebanon OR

Lebanon, Linn County, Oregon. Oldtime Fiddlers' Contest.

Details

Map. Lebanon, Linn County, Oregon. Larger map
Where
Lebanon Mennonite Church, 2100 S 2nd St., Lebanon, OR. Directions
When
Each March; date and location announced in advance in The Hoedowner and under Upcoming Events on the home page.
Hours
9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Managed by
Oregon Oldtime Fiddlers' Association.
Established
60th annual.

Contestants play several tunes of different styles before a panel of judges with the public invited; the fiddler is accompanied by up to three rhythm players, and contests are divided into age divisions.

Notable Events

  1. 1964After a public show in Waldport, Cliff Buker suggested an Oregon fiddle association; it was created that year in Hillsboro with twenty-two charter members. oregonencyclopedia.org
  2. 1965OOTFA began a monthly newsletter for jam sessions, fiddle shows, conventions and contests; editor Cliff Buker named it The Hoedowner. oregonencyclopedia.org
  3. 1988The Oregon Old Time Fiddlers' Contest was held in Lebanon, Oregon on May 13 & 14, 1988; president Lew Holt compiled the fiddler and tune lists from the tapes to put the history of the state contest in writing. ootfa.wordpress.com
  4. 2005The Oregon State Fiddle Contest ran May 20 - 21, 2005 at Chemeketa Community College in Salem. ootfa.wordpress.com
  5. 2011The Oregon State Fiddle Contest was held March 18 - 19th, 2011 at Chemeketa Community College. ootfa.wordpress.com
  6. 2026The sixtieth Oregon State Open Fiddle Contest was held on March 14, 2026, in Lebanon. ootfa.org

People

  • Cat McClintock, Contest chair.
  • Rod Anderson, OOTFA guitarist from Spokane who backs contest fiddlers (more than 30 years).
  • Lew Holt, OOTFA president who compiled the history of the state contest from tapes.
  • Cliff Buker, Old-time fiddler who suggested forming OOTFA and edited and named The Hoedowner (1964).

Sources

  1. ootfa.org/Contests.html
  2. facebook.com/ootfa
  3. lebanonlocalnews.com/fiddlers-returning-to-lebanon-for-60th-annual-state-contest
  4. oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/oregon_old_time_fiddlers_association
  5. ootfa.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/contest-history-copy.pdf
  6. ootfa.org/HD2026-02.pdf
  7. oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/2019260070/1964-07-02/ed-1/seq-1/ocr