The Nevada Old-Time Fiddlers’ contest was established at its current location in Eureka, Nevada in May, 2016. The event had previously been held in Wells, Nevada for 20 years up through 2014. Sadly, it ended that year due to financial problems.  It had also been held in Austin, Nevada long before that for an unknown number of years. In 2015 former Nevada old-time fiddler, Clare Morrow who was living in Eureka, suggested that the contest could be resurrected since there was the perfect venue in our town - the opera house.

After a bit of persuasion, I and Ralph Cuda, the master of ceremonies, agreed to the task.  The Eureka Activities Director, Cindy Beutel helped procure funding, and Clare helped explain all the paperwork and necessary tasks involved in running this event. The two-day Nevada State Old-Time Fiddle Contest was set to resume in May, 2016 at the Eureka Opera House.  A couple of nagging questions loomed, though, leading up to the day before the contest:  would it snow as it often did at that time of year, and would anybody actually come? We were pleasantly surprised when we discovered an array of trailers near the opera house that had traveled all the way from Tehachapi, California and other far- off locations. The weather was cold, but there was no snow that weekend.

The 2016 contest was small, but a very welcome event for the fiddlers, since there had been none at all the previous year. There may not have been one again, though, without the instigation of Clare Morrow whose enthusiasm and persistence helped revive the contest. She passed away on May 23, 2022 at her daughter’s home in Missouri. 

The Nevada State Old-Time Fiddlers Contest has grown a bit since 2016. Those who have attended the event have enjoyed the performances of many young as well as older experienced players who have gone on to compete in the National Old-Time Fiddlers’ Contest in Weiser, Idaho, and the Grand Masters Fiddle Contest in Nashville, Tennessee.  The best part for me has been meeting the judges, competitors, their parents, and friends who come from all over the West to enjoy a weekend of fiddling and fun.

-Kim Russell, Director