The NW Regional fiddle Contest and the Fiddlers On The Peak music contests were great fun and went off without a hitch – well, almost. Some people do not seem to understand the concept of “get ready” when they are next. And when nobody showed up to play in the Senior category in Chewelah (FOTP), I volunteered to revert back a few years and play in the Senior category (I think I could have placed among the top five), but Joanie kept insisting on some unknown thing called The Rulebook. I think everyone had fun, all the bakery goods were sold and I enjoyed watching the Huguenins, the Mansfields and the Baileys duke it out on stage. In answer to my wife’s question, “How did it go?” I had to admit that I couldn’t control my anxiety and played too fast (actually, I sounded like I was strangling my fiddle). But I did win a rhubarb pie at the raffle, and I think my wife was happier with the pie than any trophy I might have brought home.

On Thursday, May 25th, we will revive monthly playdates at the Spokane Veterans’ Home on 222 E. 5th Avenue at 6:00 pm. From the west, take the Division Street Exit and continue East on 5th Avenue; from the east, take the Division Exit and drive in aimless circles until you find 5th Avenue and go one way or another until you are there. Allow yourself plenty of time.

Street Music Week, the fundraiser for the local Second Harvest food bank, will be here in early June, then for those truly inclined towards performance-anxiety, the National Competition in Weiser will take place June 19-24, and then we will all make the pilgrimage to Moses Lake to endeavor to get better. Thank you to all of the organizers, the ringmasters and the many volunteers that keep the music going.