Two-day fiddle festival coming to South Dartmouth in early July

The 76th Maritime Fiddle Festival is coming to the NSCC Ivany Campus on Pleasant Street on July 4 and 5. Held annually since 1950, the festival features seven fiddle classes and two step-dance classes. The festival also offers two days of competitions, performances, and social events, all celebrating traditional fiddle music. Friday night offers a “Social, Jam and Dance” session, and the closing concert on Saturday evening features performances from Twin Fiddles and the festival competition winners.

Twin Fiddles is the duo comprising Nova Scotian Gordon Stobbe and JJ Guy from Saskatchewan, playing together since 2015. They perform distinctive original traditional fiddle tunes, interspersed with rich stories and humour. They also played at last year’s Celtic Colours.

“The festival is for everyone,” Diane Hicks, co-chair of the festival, told the Post. “It is a fun, family friendly event.” Competitions feature fiddlers and dancers of all ages. If you would like to come the festival for the first time, Hicks suggests to attend during the day to watch the competitions (and perhaps join in a jam session), to practice your dancing skills on Friday evening, or to enjoy Saturday night’s entertainers.

In addition to events at the Ivany Campus, there is also a promotion event on Saturday, June 28, at the Shops of Fisherman’s Cove in Eastern Passage from noon to 2 p.m.

Tickets and registration are available at https://maritimefiddlefestival.ca/.