Orangeville Fiddle & Stepdance Contest

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2024 Dufferin County Community Grant Recipient
$2,000

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The 2024 Orangeville Fiddle & Stepdance Contest was held on Saturday, July 6th at Westminster United Church. Our goal was to bring together a community of musicians and dancers that share a passion for this uniquely Canadian art form that has 60 years of history in Dufferin County.

The grant funds made it possible to hold the contest in a venue with the capacity for a full day of live music and dance performances. There were 110 total entries in both fiddle and stepdance disciplines, with contestants ages 4 to 84 coming from across Ontario to perform. The Westminster sanctuary was standing room only for most of the afternoon, with over 300 attendees throughout the day, and the whole event was livestreamed on YouTube to reach an even larger audience. Our ability to hire professional judges, accompaniment musicians, and sound & video technicians was vital in the success of the contest.

There was an overwhelming amount of local support in the audience, including fans of the Canadian Open Old Time Fiddle Championships/Heritage Music Festival in Shelburne, as well as former students of Chanda’s School of Dance and the Orangeville Fiddle & Stepdance Camp. Quotes from attendees: “It truly was an outstanding event. Orangeville loves its fiddlers and steppers and it showed.” “So many happy faces and lots of toe tapping from the audience. It was a wonderful full day of amazing music and dance.”

Charlotte Clare
charlotteclare@live.ca
905-587-0031
ovillecontest.weebly.com