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Arkansas State Fiddle & Banjo Championships and Concert @ Ozark Folk Center State Park

Entertainment
Aug 06, 2022 – Jun 16, 2022

OFC Championships

 

Arkansas Fiddle and Banjo Championships and Concerts return to the Ozark Folk Center State Park in Mountain View August 6, 2022!

The event features two state championship contests in one day.  Talented banjo players in the region will compete in the morning for the state banjo championship and fiddle players will compete for the championship in the afternoon. Audience admission is free for contests from 10:30 until 4 p.m. 

In the evening, a double-header concert will feature performances by The Ozark Highballers and Fiddlin' Banjo Billy Matthews & the Old Time Players from 7 to 9 p.m. This evening show is a ticketed event. Click here to purchase your tickets.

2022 Music & Craft Season Passes are honored for this event. To learn more about season passes, click here.

Please scroll through this page for information about the contests, including registration and concert info.

NEW REGISTRATION PROCEDURE

Registration for the contests will be in the lobby of the Ozark Highlands Theater on the day of the contests.  There is no online or advance registration for either the fiddle or the banjo contest.  Registration fee is $10.00 cash at the door.  Doors will open at 9 a.m. for registration.

Banjo and Fiddle contestants can attend the concert for free with their contest badge.

The registration process will be set up for self-service.  This is a new process that will allow for continuous playing in the contest where all divisions will play back-to-back without having a break between divisions.

The new registration procedure works as follows:

Pick up a registration packet for your division
Read the rules and complete and sign the registration card including the tune selections
Take the completed registration card and $10 to the registration table
Drop the $10 registration fee into the fee jar
Draw a letter tile to determine the order in which you will play
Stick the letter tile onto your completed registration card
Print your name on the registration list for your division
Leave your registration card in the basket for your division and walk away from the table

NOTE: All contestants must park in the large parking lot at the bottom of the hill from the Ozark Highlands Theater.  Instruments may be delivered to the theater before the contest begins; however, automobiles must then be returned to the lower parking lot.  Shuttle buses are available for transportation between the parking lot and the theater.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

All events will be in the Ozark Highlands Theater.

Audience admission is free for the contests.

9:00 a.m.                 Doors open at Ozark Highlands Theater and registration begins
10:00 a.m.               Registration for Banjo Contest ends for all divisions
10:30 a.m.               Banjo Contest begins for all divisions
12:00 p.m.               Break for lunch (Fiddle Contest registration continues during lunch break)
1:30 p.m.                 Registration for Fiddle Contest ends for all divisions
2:00 p.m.                 Fiddle Contest begins for all divisions
4:00 p.m.                 Contests ends
7:00 p.m.                 Evening Concert
9:00 p.m.                 Concert ends

Click links below to view/print contest information, schedule and rules:

Fiddle and Banjo contest schedule and prizes 

 Fiddle Contest Information and rules 

 Banjo Contest Information and rules 

Fiddle Contest Judges
Fiddlin' Banjo Billy Mathews
Emily Lawless
Roy Pilgrim

Banjo Contest Judges
Fiddlin' Banjo Billy Mathews
Emily Lawless
Clarke Buehling

To purchase tickets for the evening concert featuring The Ozark Highballers and Fiddlin' Banjo Billy Matthews & the Old Time Players, click HERE.