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larion Call AUTUMN LEAF FESTIVAL EDITION 2012
OCTOBER 4, 2012
VOL. 99 ED. 4
Inside THIS WEEK’S EDITION
Clarion University hosts Family Day. FEATURES PAGE 5
Car show kicks off ALF week. FEATURES PAGE 5 Justin Gmoser / The Clarion Call
Clarion community members visit the stands located on Main Street, Clarion, during the 59th annual The Farmers National Bank Autumn Leaf Festival. The festival runs through Oct. 6.
Fiddle championship draws crowd, prizes awarded Rachel Farkas STAFF WRITER
Clarion Jazz Octet performs in ALF festival. ENTERTAINMENT PAGE 5
ALF art show opens at Michelle’s Cafe. ENTERTAINMENT PAGE 13
Clarion football defeats East Stroudsburg. SPORTS PAGE 5
Teens win crown in ALF scholarship pageant. PAGE A2
Clarion, Pa. - On Saturday, Sept. 29, people of all ages gathered at the First United Methodist Church in Clarion to appreciate the art of fiddling at the Suzan Hahnfeldt State Farm Insurance Pennsylvania State Fiddle Contest on Saturday. “Young and old, these fiddlers are an inspiration,” said Suzan Hahnfeldt, as she addressed the audience before the contest began. “This is where it starts,” she said. This is the second year Clarion has hosted the state contest during Autumn Leaf Festival. Kim Thomas, of Thomas Music Studio in Brookville, has coordinated the event since the late 1970s. “This is just something that my husband and I do together to promote old time fiddling,” Thomas said. “It’s very important that I keep it going.” About 40 contestants competed in fiddle, guitar, mandolin and banjo divisions. Sponsorships from Suzan Hahnfeldt State Farm Insurance, Clarion Industries and PNC Bank gave $3,000 in prize
Rachel Farkas / The Clarion Call
Jill Mosher (left) accompanied by her grandmother Helen Yesollvich (right) plays the fiddle in the championship division with guitar accompaniment. money to be awarded to the top four contestants in each division. Thomas said this is the largest amount of prize money that has been awarded at the Pennsylvania contest. There are four divisions in the fiddling competition: junior, teen, senior and champ. The first-place winner of the champ division is named the Pennsylvania State Fiddling Champion. With the state title,
the winner can perform at the national competition in Weiser, Idaho. Contestants are rated by three judges on rhythmic accuracy, intonation, tone quality and creativity. All contestants are given five minutes to perform three songs: a hoedown, a waltz and a song of their choice. The guitar, mandolin and banjo divisions are required to play only two songs of choice within the five-minute time limit.
As a former fiddle state champion, Thomas said she felt compelled to revive the contest in the late 1970s after it had been discontinued due to lack of interest. “I just didn’t want to stop fiddling,” she said. She is not alone in her passion for the particular style of playing. The keen interest in fiddling could be seen through the skill level and large amount of young competitors. Julia Voris won first
place in the teen division this year. The 14-year-old Punxsutawney resident said she has been playing fiddle for nine years and competing for eight. “I love it,” she said. “I enjoy the whole atmosphere.” Jill Voris, Julia’s mother, said her daughter showed a strong interest in music when her older brother, Alex, began playing the piano. Jill said she told Julia at the time she was not big enough to play the piano, to which Julia replied that if she couldn’t play the piano, she wanted to learn to play the violin. Julia began taking lessons when she was 5-years-old and since then, Jill said her daughter has won nine state titles between Pennsylvania, Ohio and Maryland. The second place winner in the teen division also expressed his interest in fiddling and competing. Ryan Sutter, also of Punxsutawney, said he’s been playing for five years and competing for just as long. He said he would like to continue playing and competing for many years to come. “It’s nice to win, but I just like doing it,” Sutter said.
INDEX News 2 Opinion 4 Features 5 Classifieds 7 Puzzles & Comics 7 Arts & Entertainment 8 Sports 10 Standings 11
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Clarion community couples participate in the ‘Scoot N’ Boots’ line dancing program during the 2012 Autumn Leaf Festival.