Tom Fitzgerald a First Timer in Shelburne
For
Immediate Release
Despite
rain and some well-timed claps of thunder, the 62nd Canadian Open Old Time
Fiddle Championship just finished in Shelburne, Ontario was a great success.
 | |
| Tom Fitzgerald of Bancroft (left) with Shelburne Mayor Ed Crewson |
This year’s Canadian Open Old Time Fiddle Champion, Tom Fitzgerald of Bancroft,
Ontario, was crowned at the finals on Saturday, August 11.
This was Tom’s first
Championship, following his sister Julie’s Championship in 2010, which was also
the year his sister Kerry won the Canadian Tune of Choice Award. Award results for all of the competition classes are
attached and will also be available at www.shelburnefiddlecontest.on.ca.
Julie Fitzgerald, also of Bancroft, Ontario,
came second in the Championship and won the Canadian Tune of Choice trophy and
award with Black Jack Whiskey by Graham Townsend.
With
70 contestants registered from as far away as Port Alberni, BC, and 1,500 audience
members joining us over the course of the event, another successful edition of
Canada’s premier fiddle championship has passed into the history books.
Sandra
Gallaugher, Chair of the Shelburne Rotary Club’s contest organizing committee,
said, “This year’s Championship once again demonstrates that Canadian Old Time
Fiddle Music is alive and well in Shelburne. Thank you to all of our
contestants, judges, audience members, sponsors, helpers and supporters for
helping us to make it such a success.”
The Saturday night entertainment included a
clear audience favourite - the Judges’ Showcase, giving Webb Acheson, Karen
Reed, and Kelli Trottier, a chance to demonstrate their fiddling skills – and
their humour.
The
youngest competitor this year was five year old Gibson Lemelin; the oldest was
82 year old Scotty McHardy.
The
tradition of the last several years continued with the most hotly contested Class
being the Junior Championship (13 - 18 year olds), which had 14 competitors (double
that of the Championship Class) and was won by Emily Yarascavitch of Oshawa,
Ontario. The 9 & Under class had 13 competitors, a recent high water mark,
and was won by Joelle Crigger of Toronto, Ontario. Look for both of these young
ladies in the Championship class at future contests.
The
Invincible Vince Mountford Memorial
Trophy for “Most Entertaining Fiddler” was presented to six-year old Paul Jacob
Lemelin (son of Paul and Melika Lemelin). It was a crowd-pleasing choice as the
winner became fascinated by his reflection in the plate that is the award.
After
a heartfelt plea to the Saturday night audience, Miss Teen Canada International Nikita Singh was able to raise $752 for
the Teddy Bears of Hope Foundation to send teddy bears to underprivileged
children in Haiti.
Garry Ballagh, the Master of
Ceremonies, was able to find one person in the audience who had attended all 62
contests – although she admitted that she had missed the Saturday night show
one year due to an illness in the family. That’s a true love of old time fiddle
music!
The
Saturday afternoon show at the arena featured Cape Ceol (the Jenish sisters and
the Provencher brothers with special guests Duncan McDougall and Tessa Bangs)
fiddling, stepdancing, and singing for a crowd of over 250. The crowd was so
thrilled that the performers were given a standing ovation and had to come out
and perform an encore.
On
Thursday night, the Blazing Fiddles were a hit, with a crowd of close to 300 treated to a variety of tunes ranging from old time
to jazz.
Mark your calendar now for the 63rd Championship:
August 7-11, 2013.
For more information
visit www.shelburnefiddlecontest.on.ca.
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