WEISER, Idaho — The sounds of finely tuned fiddle strings being plucked and bowed fill the campgrounds in the town of Weiser.
Fiddlers throughout the country have rosined up their bows and taken to Weiser for the long-running tradition - the National Oldtime Fiddlers' Contest and Festival.
"It's something that a lot of people really look forward to every year," National Oldtime Fiddlers' Contest board member Gary Schuh said, "This is kind of the big town festival, it's what puts Weiser on the map."
The event is in its 71st year of being the national competition for fiddling, bringing the nation's finest fiddlers to the Gem State.
"We basically ask any smaller contests throughout the country to send us their best fiddle," Schuh said.
This year's contest has also drawn fiddlers from Japan and Italy.
The fiddle contest starts Monday and runs through Saturday at Weiser alongside a fiddle festival. The event crescendos with a parade on Saturday.
"I was a kid coming up through this, and this is what brought me into music," Schuh said. "There's a lot of famous musicians that grew up coming here and are now professional musicians and bands."
A full schedule of the contest is available on the National Oldtime Fiddlers' Contest website. Tickets can be purchased here.
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