National Park hosts fiddle festival and competition, near Beatrice

BEATRICE – Fiddlers from around the Midwest and as far away as Montana participated in the Tallgrass Prairie Fiddle Festival, Saturday.

The annual event is hosted by the Homestead National Historical Park, west of Beatrice.   For several years, it has had the backing of the Coffin Family Foundation founded in 2000…an organization that is also a big supporter of the annual Homestead Days Celebration, coming up in June. 

A fiddle competition during the event features junior, senior and legend division fidders as well as acoustic bands.  Prior to the competition a fiddling workshop was held. 

This Memorial Day weekend, the Homestead is also hosting a performance on Sunday at 1 p.m., by nationally-known dancing fiddler, Hillary Klug, from Tennessee.   She was teaming up with Nebraska musicians David Marsh and Terry Keefe.  A jam session and buck dancing workshop was planned just ahead of the Sunday performance.

 

2024 Tallgrass Prairie Fiddle Festival Results,  Homestead National Historical Park – May 25, 2024

Junior Division

1^st Place                          Mikayla Knott

                                          Lincoln, NE

2^nd Place                          Cyndi Christensen

                                          Omaha, NE

3^rd Place                          Maddie Bock

                                          Lincoln, NE

Senior Division

1^st Place                          Monte Gayload

                                          Nowata OK

2^nd Place                          Joe Fedrizi

                                          Dearborn, MO

3^rd Place                          Anne Nagosky

                                          Omaha, NE 

Picking Division

1^st Place                          Monte Gayload  

2^nd Place                          Natasha Beckerbauer                                         

Band Division

1^st Place                          Monte Gayload  

2^nd Place                          Rattlesnake and Pearls

3^rd Place                          Farewell Trio