Groesbeck Annual Fiddle Festival

By Tom Hawkins

The annual Groesbeck Fiddle Festival is all ready to go on this Saturday, May 6. The annual event will be held at the Groesbeck Convention Center. The Convention Center will be a busy place on Saturday as voting for the city of Groesbeck election will be at the Convention Center. The Center will also be one of the voting stations for the Groesbeck ISD election.

The Fiddle Festival is under the operation of the Texas Old Time Fiddlers Association. The overall winner of the Groesbeck event is call the Southwest Fiddler Champion.

The late Wilmer Little of Groesbeck started the Fiddle Festival. He was associated with the event throughout the years. Mr. Little passed away in 2016. The first Fiddle Festival was held in 1968.

The Fiddle Festival will begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday and will continue into the afternoon. John Allred will be the master of ceremonies, and Karmen Hoffpauir is the general manager of the Fiddle Festival.

Cash prizes are given for the various age categories. These include the age 15 and under division, the age 16 to 35 division, the age 36 to 64 division, and the age 65 and up division. Cash prizes are also given to the top accompanist and the grand champion (The Southwest Fiddler Champion).

The Groesbeck Masonic Lodge will be selling BBQ at the Fiddle Festival.

The event is sponsored by the Groesbeck Chamber of Commerce, the city of Groesbeck and various businesses and individuals.