Visit our new web site at www.csotfa.org

“Preserving and Perpetuating Old Time Fiddle Music”

Jan-Feb 2018

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On January 1, 2018, we lost a very important member of our Fiddle Family hereon Earth, and Heaven gained another fiddler in the band. The passing of BillWhitfield leaves a very large void. To say that he was an active supporter of oldtime fiddle music and old time fiddlers is a gross understatement.

Tex and I have many fond memories of sharing music and “swapping lies” withBill at contests from north at the National Oldtime Fiddlers’ Contest in Weiser,Idaho; east to the Nevada State Old Time Fiddle Contest in Eureka NV (Googlethe location); and way down south to the contest he and Anita ran in Death Valley.He was always at the Western Open, Cloverdale, and Weaverville to name justa few. In reading Bill’s obituary, I found many things that I never knew abouthim. He was not one to toot his own horn, but to support the “tootings” ofeveryone else.

Bill took on the Presidency of the CSOTFA and was its head for many, manyyears. One of my fondest memories of him in this role happened at the CSOTFABoard meetings when they were in Madera in that “unique” Chinese restaurant.There is an old song about a freight train running through the middle of thehouse.. (Bill Whitfield continued pg. 3)

It is hard for me to believe that we have alreadyarrived at 2018. Many in our fiddle family havefaced un-precedented challenges in 2017—including the fires in Napa Valley and SouthernCalifornia, followed by the recent mudslides. Aswe start this new year, please join Tex and me aswe continue to pray for everyone’s safety, health,and well-bring.

After some “interesting” turns of events, it isofficial—the 2018 California State Old TimeFiddle Association Contest will be held March16 and 17 at the Veteran’s Hall in Oroville. Weare not anticipating anything close to the issues weexperienced at the 2017 contest, but still think itwould be a good idea to get a motel reservationearly. Tex and I are booked at America’s ValueInn. I have not yet firmed up the roster of judges,so if you or someone you know is interested, pleasegive me a call ASAP.

Statewide, membership in CSOTFA is decliningslowly, but steadily. Keeping this music alive isour main purpose for existence as expressed in ourmission statement. Please consider what you cando to keep our organization healthy and relevant.Share your ideas with the leadership in yourDistrict, and consider that if each one of ourmembers did just one little thing, how those “littlethings” would accumulate into one big thing! Justsaying….

See you in Oroville!

Sharon

Presidents Message Billy Doyle Whitfield

July 29, 1930 - January 1, 2018

Mr. Whitfield was born in Beeville,Texas and was a resident of Pattersonfor 63 years. He owned a long-timemachine shop business in Pattersonand operated a dairy for 25 years. Mr.Whitfield was a Korean War Veteran,a member of the American Legion andwas the Past President of theCalifornia Fiddlers Association. Heenjoyed flying planes, competitiveshooting where he won manycompetitions and playing music with his friends at local gatherings. Heheld the Modesto High School record in the High Jump for many yearsand participated in the Patterson High School Mentorship Program.

DISTRICT MEETING LOCATIONS, DATES, AND TIMES:

District 1 4th Sunday 1:00-5:00 p.m.: Feather River Senior Center 1335 Meyer St. Oroville

District 3 2nd Saturday 2:00-5:00 p.m. 21100 Lonely Lane, Tehachapi Ca

District 4 1st Sunday 1:00-4:00 p.m.: Orange Thorpe Pk. Activity Bldg., 1414 Brookhurst, Fullerton CA

District 5 2nd Sunday 1:00-5:00 p.m.: Orangevale Grange, 5807 Walnut Ave. Orangevale CA

District 6

District 7 2nd Sunday: Terrace Estates Clubhouse, 1815 Sweetwater Road, Spring Valley, CA

3rd Sunday: Village Park Rec Club #2, 2099 Mountain Vista Dr., Encinitas, CA 92024

4th Sunday: Rancho San Diego Library, 11555 Via Rancho San Diego, El Cajon, CA

District 8 2nd & 4th Sunday 1:30-4:00 p.m.: Oak View Community Center, 18 Valley Rd. Oak View CA

District 9 4th Sunday 1:30-5:00 p.m.: United Methodist Church, 19806 Wisteria St., Castro Valley CA

District 10 4th Sun.+ traveling jam: Redwood Café, Cotati call Mark Hogan 707-829-8012 or Katy Bridges 415-331-9661

President: Sharon Barrett- texshar@pacbell.net

V. Pres. :

Secretary: Mary Rose Preston; maryrose@wavecable.com

Treasurer: Robert Curtis - rocurtis@gatewayacceptance.com

Membership: Charley Oveland - croveland@sbcglobal.net

Editor: Cathy Agnew - themimi@roadrunner.com

California State Old Time Fiddlers’ AssociationP.O. Box 1703 Oroville, CA 95965

State Officers State DirectorsDistrict 1: Vacant

District 3: Gayel Pitchford -- captgayel@cybersurfers.net

District 4: Pat Nelson -- rpnelson@pacbell.net

District 5: Lyle Dixson - Lyle@DATEQ.NET

District 6: Tex Ash -- texshar@pacbell.net

District 7: Chuck Murtomaki - chmurt@cox.net

District 8: Charletta Erb – charlettaerb@gmail.com

District 9: Bob Palasek - r03palasek@sbcglobal.net

District 10: Mark Hogan- hogiemoon@comcast.net

1st Sunday 1:00 PM - 4:30 PM Redding - St. James Lutheran Church 2500 Shasta View Blvd.Redding, CA - Web site: http://www.northstatefiddlers.com

3rd Sunday - Palo Cedro- 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM.- 22037 Old Forty-Four Drive, Palo Cedro, CA

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Well, in this case, the railroad was about ten feet outside the back wall ofour meeting room. Bill would have to pause the meeting to let the trainrun through. It never disrupted his meeting and just became part of theoverall ambiance (along with really strange Chinese food for lunch!)

I remember Bill walking around the campground and at Weiser HighSchool gathering people to play when California was the host state. Heknew everyone, and everyone knew him. He had a smile and a story forthem all. At least when I knew him, Bill was never the best fiddler in theroom. This never stopped him from competing in every contest, becausehe didn’t derive his sense of self from the placement he earned in a fiddlecontest, and was all about supporting everyone to do their best in whateverthe endeavor. He thrived on sharing his joy of music and the competitionstage was just another way for him to do that.

I don’t remember if he was the founder of the “Anything Goes” event atthe CSOTFA State Contest, but I do know that he was its staunchestsupporter. He wrote the rules; he gathered the judges; he MC’ed the event;and he funded a big chunk of the prize money. For him, it was yet anotheropportunity for musicians to share the joy.

When I became first Secretary, then President of CSOTFA, Bill hadstepped down to the Vice Presidency. His reports at the Board meetingswere always positive, upbeat, and optimistic about the state of fiddlingand fiddlers in California. I’ll end this narrative the same way Bill did forthose many years, by simply stating, ”End of report.”

Editors Note: One thing Wayne and I remember about Bill was thathe loved the fiddle contests. He especially loved to see the kids.During the days preceding the state fiddle contest Bill would join thegroups that went out in the community and played at schools,assisted living facilities, day care centers. At the preschools he alwaysstarted with Old McDonald Had A Farm. One of Bill’s greatestlegacies will be the Death Valley Fiddle Contest that he organizedfor many years.

(Bill Whitfield continued )

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Once on his way back fromDeath Valley he stopped off inOxnard to visit long time friendMrs. Rae Huffman and play afew tunes. We have fondmemories of Bill and he willbe greatly missed. RIP Mr. Bill

Mary Rose PrestonDistrict 1

District ReportsDistrict 3

Gayel Pitchford

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Fiddle Float in Tehachapi Christmas Parade. We had areal good time—1 bass, 1 cello, 1 mandolin, 1 guitar,and about 15 fiddlers! We had so many people that someof them rode—and fiddled with us—from the bed of thepick up truck that was pulling the float!! My bass playerhad a blue and silver Christmas tree mounted on thescroll of her bass, and blue tinsel and blue lights wrappedall around it. It was quite a sight. We had all ages—3nine-year old fiddlers and all the way up to 70 something.They all came early and stood in front of the float, outin the street, no less, and serenaded passers by until itwas time to load up and roll out! (photos courtesy ofVincent Hernandez & Becky Chandler.).

We also had 3 parents and a big dog riding on the trailerpart under the scroll of the big fiddle. We were quite asight to see. We had white rope lights outlining thefiddle, and multi-colored Christmas lights swagedaround the trailer part of the float. At the end,EVERYONE said they wanted to be in the next paradewe had!

Also, two of our fiddlers, Cellist Piper Meisler, andViolinist BJ Zheng, were selected for the All Kern HighSchool Honors Orchestra recently. Piper got secondchair in the Cellos , and BJ, who is only 13 and theyoungest person in the entire orchestra, got 14th chair inthe first violins! We are really proud of them.

Coming Up Soon ...Thurs., March 15 - Gospel Jam and Hoedown

Fri. & Sat., March 16 & 17 - State Fiddle Contest Gospel Jam and StateFiddle Contest

While you are in town for the annual state contest, be sure to join us onThursday, March 15, 2018 at 6:00 p.m. for the Gospel Jam andHoedown at the Feather River Senior Center, 1335 Myers Street,Oroville. Enjoy dinner during the Gospel Jam: corned beef and cabbagewith the fixin’s.

If you want to participate in the Gospel Jam and Hoedown, contact JimiBeeler at 530-282-3205.

District 1 is working hard getting ready for the 52nd Annual CaliforniaState Old-Time Open Fiddle & Picking Championships.Fri./Sat. March 16-17, 2018 ******* PLEASE NOTICE THE DATECHANGE!Veterans Memorial Hall, 2310-2454 Montgomery St., OrovilleThis year the contest will be Weiser-certified .See the website:www.csotfa.org for more details about the contest .Of course, if youhave questions you can contact Zeke at 530-589-0453.

World Fiddle DayStart planning your special events to celebrate World Fiddle Day onSaturday, May 19! A little background: In 2015, Canada designated thethird Saturday in May as National Fiddle Day. The federal governmentsaid it was in recognition of the cultural and social history the instrumenthas in Canada as well as the different styles of fiddle music. There willbe a World Fiddle Day jam in Loomis on Sally’s porch late morningMay 19. Contact Mary Rose if you would like to join us and to get theplay list .... or you can start your own event locally (a great idea!).

Frontier ChristmasOn Saturday, December 2 our musicians performed a 40-minute concertof holiday tunes at the Frontier Christmas Celebration at the LakeOroville Visitors Center. It was a beautiful day with a happy crowd,and lots of people enjoyed the fiddle music. A number of us enjoyedhot dogs and other treats and socialized after we played. Many thanksto Zeke for taking pictures! (More photos page 5)

District 5Lyle Dixson

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(District 1 photos

District 5 report provided by Doug Dempster.

2018 will mark our 25th year of monthly jams at OrangevaleGrange Hall - more than all the prior meeting places combined.We wound up 2017 with a bang at our last session Dec. 10.There was a nice turnout of both people and desserts for ourannual pre-Christmas performance and jam session.

Memories are a little misty about the exact sequence of jamlocations prior to Orangevale. Oldtime members Carl Malotteand Duane Malme put on their thinking caps and came up withlists - maybe not exactly in order: A church in Roseville, nearbyOakmont High School, Fair Oaks Community Clubhouse, RioLinda High School, Carmichael Elementary School and finallyOrangevale in 1993. When that last move occurred, PrestonBiggers was our president. As a Grange member he learned thatthe organization wanted to boost use of its hall. Thanks toPreston, we got a really good deal -- much cheaper rent than atCarmichael School.

My late wife. Betty, and I caught up with the club in the winterof 1985-86 when an acquaintance, Arlene Berg, suggested wemight enjoy the doings at Oakmont High. We took our then1-year-old grandson, Jeff. My clearest memory is that someone- maybe me - spilled hot coffee on him. His objections weredrowned out by the amassed fiddlers on stage. Jeff survived andit didn't deter him from music - initially fiddle, then guitar, thenmandolin, and more recently 5-string banjo.

About those two prominent names from our past: Arlene Bergwas a founder and first secretary of CSOTFA when it got goingin the Chico-Oroville-Paradise area in 1965. Preston Biggersheld many offices at the district and state level and about 20years ago initiated the monthly gathering we still call "Preston'sJam" in his honor. After several changes of venue, it's now atLakeview Village Mobile Home Park in Citrus Heights. Inrecent years, we lost Arlene and Preston, both multiinstrumentalists, but they were major inspirations for manylonger time members.

Pardon the digression into ancient history. At our lastboard meeting Dec. 10, we talked of how we mightimprove our two biggest events -our fiddle kids showcaseand holiday dinner which are scheduled for next Sept. 10and Nov. 11 respectively. They're pretty nice but wefigure there's always room to do better. Anotherdiscussion item centered on how to gain more members,especially families and younger people in general. MaryMcGown, our membership chair and entertainmentcoordinator, pointed out that while we get kudos and itbenefits listeners when we play at senior facilities, wehave a better shot at attracting members by appearing atcommunity events such as Orangevale Pow Wow Daysand Fair Oaks Fiesta. She said she will work on that inthe new year. Those events have long histories - the powwow dates back to 1963; the Fair Oaks event started in1949. I remember when we played at the pow wow oneJune - it rained! Many years ago, our club used to enterthe Carmichael 4th of July parade. A couple of clubmembers - probably Harvey Duncan and John Brown --cranked up a Model T Ford truck and musiciansperformed on the bed. The fiddlers were greeted warmly- it was usually close to being the hottest day of the year.

Arlene Berg

Preston Bigger @ age 94

Duane & Son, Eric Malme

District 6George Fredson

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Happy New Year!All of the members of District 6 have recovered pretty wellfrom the Holiday Season and are looking forward to the NewYear with great expectations. We will continue with our twomonthly events, one in Redding - with our Free Old TimeFiddle, Bluegrass, Americana Music Concert and Open Micat St. James Lutheran Church 2500 Shasta View Blvd.Redding, CA - First Sunday of each month 1:00 PM - 4:30PM. Or join us in Palo Cedro - for our Free Old Time Fiddle,Bluegrass,Americana Music Concert and Open Mic at the PaloCedro Community Hall(Previously: Millville Grange Hall)22037 Old Forty-Four Drive, Palo Cedro, CA -Third Sundayeach month 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM.

Holiday Season EventsJust as our members have come to expect, we all enjoyedanother fabulous Christmas party and potluck and concert. Aspeople began showing up with casserole dishes and plates, thedelicious aromas came wafting from the kitchen. Our “KitchenQueen” was the very talented and capable Laura Spence, whomanaged her domain with the help of her assistants. Turkey,Ham, Dressing, Gravy, Potatoes set the stage for the meal, andother willing hands supplied all the lovely and tasty side dishesand desserts.

The tables were all decorated with festive Christmas Cheer,and soon they were all filled with our fiddle family and friendschatting,visiting, and eating. Gradually, the people filed in tothe main hall to find a seat and wait for the next act—aninspiring and beautiful Christmas concert from theincomparable Alldrin Family! The stage was filled with thisbeautiful family, and their violins, cello, mandolin, guitars, tinwhistle, and more as they gavethis present of music to our club.

Election NewsThe 2017 elections for the 2018 slate of officers is nowcompleted. Your board of directors consists of: President: TimGarrison; Vice Pres: Lloyd Raeg; Treas: Pat Scott; Secretary:Carolyn Faubel; Membership: Mary Raeg; Advisors: LeeBrushett, Tom Spence, George Fredson, Laura Spence;Publicity: Becky Huskey; Senior Representative: Anne Huber;State Representative: Tex Ash.

We thank everyone for a splendid turnout to the election ballot,and hope that we can serve the membership and represent youto our best capacity.

The Alldrin Family had a wonderful time bringingChristmas cheer to retirement homes, the Palo CedroCountry Christmas fair and the District 6 Christmasparty. Nine members strong, the Alldrins love to sharethe gift of music with audiences of all ages.

The Old Kennett String BandWe had a great time bringing Christmas Cheer andsharing our music at the Camden House at Whiskeytown.We will be adding Oakmont Retirement Community to ourregularly scheduled gigs. Timothy Garrison-mandolin,Carolyn Faubel-bass, George Fredson-guitar, Amy Vogt-banjo.

Loosely Strung enjoyed sharing Christmas music at manyretirement and convalescent homes throughout TehamaCounty in December. It's always a joy to have the residentssing-a-long. They also performed at the Ide Adobe annualPioneer Christmas. Annie Freemyers, District 6's 2017scholarship recipient and Lindsay Pho, both privatestudents of Pat Scott were also able to join us and spreadChristmas joy.

Stay in touch with what’s going on in District 6 at Web site: http://www.northstatefiddlers.com>

District 7Gregory Gross

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Happy New Year! The holiday luncheon at Anna'sFaily Restaurant showed an attendance nearing 40members and their family members. Our electedboard was announced, and many of us stuck arounduntil "quitting time" in the jam activity. Electionresults were: chairperson Gregory Gross, vice chairLinda Rinner, secretary Kathy Wolf, treasurerSandra Rios, membership Lee Schweighauser, statedirector Chuck Murtomaki, and advisors WillieRandel, Dan Touchstone and Carol McCollum.

Barbara Brooks took top honors in the SeniorSeniors category at Death Valley late last year.

Our invitation to play for the Lemon Grove Seniorsluncheon has been extended to a regular schedule,and the Old Town State Park gig at the MormonBattalion is on tap late in January.

The fifth annual Julian Fiddle 'n' Pickin' Contest isscheduled for May 26 & 27, Memorial Dayweekend. We are considering a waltz player'scategory, complete with a prize pledge. Entry feesare modest, and spectators are invited to observe allday long for free.

Respectfully submitted, Gregory Gross

Chairperson, CSOTFA District 7

Old Town Hall, Julian

District 9 Ruth Oveland

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all our fiddle friends and families!! We hopeyou had a wonderful holiday season with your family and friends.

District 9 had a grand Christmas celebration/jam. We had lots of greatmusic, food, and an outstanding raffle! We elected our Officers for 2018.We are awaiting someone to step up and take the position of President,but the ensuing elected persons are: Vice President – Al Tiexeira;Secretary – Steve Goldfield; Treasurers – Jean Kalvig and Pearl Ray;Membership Secretary – Carl Brown; District 9 Director – Bob Palasek;Advisors – John Durbin, Bob Myerson, and Todd Townsend. Ourappointed positions are: Carl Brown – BayStrings editor; Susan Calico– website manager; Jeannette Amick – Sunshine Lady. Our thanks tothose members for their willingness to keep District 9 a viable part ofCSOTFA. We had our first Board of Directors meeting and it was a livelygroup discussing issues concerning our district, developing the directionof our District for 2018 and, of course, great food and concluded with agreat jamming session!

We were saddened by the loss of one of our Lifetime members, BillWhitfield. He lost his battle with lung cancer on January 1, 2018. He wasa fiddler, guitar player and served as an officer at both the District andState level. We will miss you, Bill, and thanks for all that you contributedto our great fiddle family!!

We bid a fond farewell to Tom and MaryAnn Clausen as they begin anew passage in their lives by moving to West Linn, OR. Tom has servedas District 9 President for the past 4 years. We’ll miss Tom’s enthusiasticfiddle playing and Mary Ann’s dancing feet.

We have several members battling health issues and we keep them in ourthoughts and prayers and hope to see them back soon.

Come join us the 4th Sunday of the month in Castro Valley, CA. Bringyour instruments and a hungry tummy as our potluck lunches are alwaysoutstanding!! Also, check us out on our website, csotfa9.org and on ourFacebook page.

District 10Mark Hogan

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(Photos courtesy Carl Brown)

We have Board & Membership meeting coming up: January20th, at 10:00 AM at the Cloverdale Historical Society Bldg.207A N. Cloverdale Blvd. Cloverdale 95425.

If you are interested in the Minutes of our last meeting and aReview of the Fiddle-Off email Mark Hogan athogiemoon@comcast.net

I've also attached a photo of our Youth Group in action at theAqus Cafe, Petaluma. We put on a performance there on Dec16th. We are looking forward to giving another on March 17th!

And attached is a photo of some of our District 10 membersonstage at the ScCoFoCo New Years Eve Potluck Dec 31st.Also coming up:

The 6th Sebastopol Guitar Festival. Saturday January 27th2018. Noon until 10:00 pm. At the Sebastopol CommunityCultural Center. 390 Morris St., Sebastopol.

Caña Dulce y Caña Brava, one of Mexico’s premier son Jarochogroups, will perform at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts(SCA) at 6 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 28.

Fiddle jam at the Ely Stage Stop and Country Museum, SundayFebruary 4th, Noon -2:00 pm. 9921 Soda Bay Rd., Kelseyville,95451. Remember this jam happens EVERY 1st Sunday!!!!

Congratulations to John Clendenen new district !0 President,Mike Drayton, Treasurer, and Mark Hogan District 10 boardrepresentative.

March 7, The Sonoma County Bluegrass & Folk Festival,Sebastopol Community Cultural Center. Info at 707-328-6219.April 7, Cloverdale Fiddle Festival. Info at 707-894-3992.

(Dist 9 photos continued)

District 10 members onstage at the ScCoFoCo

Youth Group in action at the Aqus Cafe, Petaluma.

Oroville Veterans Memorial Hall2374 Montgomery St.

Oroville, CAMarch 15

Gospel Jam & HoedownFeather River Senior Center

Chairperson Jimi Beeler – (530) 282-3205More Info Call

Contest Co-Chair Brett Johnson530-533-9336

email -brett@housersmusic.com

California State Old Time Fiddlers Association Dedicated to the preservation &perpetuation of old time fiddle music

March 16-17, 2018

Visit our website www.csotfa.org for full listings of schedules,divisions, rules & guidelines

201852ndAnnual

California StateOld Time Open Fiddle

& Picking Championships

RV Parking: on theEast end parking lotof the MunicipalAuditorium.$15 Parking Fee

Weiser Certified

Open Division Prize Money $1600 Total

California State Old Time Fiddlers Association

1966-2018

CALIFORNIA STATE OLD TIME FIDDLERSDistrict 3

EIGHTH ANNUAL “AMATEUR” OLD TIME FIDDLECONTEST

When: Saturday, March 10, 2018—registration opens at 8:00 a.m.;contest starts at 9:00 sharp

Where: Tehachapi Valley United Methodist Church on Schout Roadacross from Country Oaks Baptist, Tehachapi

How Much: NO registration/admission fees (Donations welcome)

Who: All Fiddlers and Pickers ages 20 and under may compete Listeners and toe-tappers of all ages are invited to attendFiddle Age Divisions

· PeeWees (ages 8 and under)· Junior-Juniors (ages 9-12)· Juniors (ages 13-20)· Cello-Bass Fiddlers (20 and under)

Other Divisions· Novelty Division (one danceable tune)· Picking Division (two tunes—1 fast, 1 slow)· Twin Fiddles (two tunes—1 fast, 1 slow)· Band Scramble (two tunes—1 fast, 1 slow)

Grand Champion Playoff among 1st Place Winners of all Fiddle Divisions

CSOTFA Rules will apply. Medals for first 5 places in each division,except Band Scramble.

More info at 661-823-8249 orwww.tehachapifiddlers.org

April 11 - 15, 2018

Julian, CA

Guitar • Mandolin • Fiddle • UprightBass • Cello • Banjo

Bluegrass • Appalachian Old-time •Texas Style • Celtic

(760) 522-8458 orinfo@familyfiddlecamp.com

$19.00 general admission $15.00 Seniors (65+)$15.00 ages 6 through 12Children under 6 are free

TIX AT THE DOORjJuried Fiddle Contest WorkshopsCrafts & Food Jamming

CALIFORNIA BLUEGRASSASSOCIATION

PERFORMANCE STAGE SLOW JAM

with John Karsemeye

Antioch Strolling StringsDebby McClatchyThe Road Oilers

Haute Flash Quartet

RV hookups available by reservation* Campsites available for Fri. &Sat. Nights * more information * www.cloverdalefiddles.com *(707)894-3992 * (707)337-3940 * jcjo555@yahoo.com

Jan-Feb 2018

We w

ish our mem

bers a very blessed and happyholiday season w

ith family and friends. A

nd ahappy, healthy and B

lessed 2018.

Up C

oming E

vents

Mar. 10

Dist. 3 E

ighth Annual “A

mateur” O

ld Tim

e Fiddle Contest,

Tehachapi ( See Page 9 for details)

Mar 15-17 State Fiddle &

Picking Cham

pionships , Oroville (see details

Page 9 )

April 7

Cloverdale Fiddle Festival, C

loverdale, (see page 9 for details)

April 11-15 Julian Fam

ily Fiddle Cam

p, Julian, (details on page 9)

May 26-27 Fifth A

nnual Julian Fiddle “n” Pickin’ Contest