Last modified: Tuesday, June 21, 2005 12:55 PM PDT Fiddle festival time Renowned event kicks off 59th annual run in Weiser JESSICA KELLER - ARGUS OBSERVER WEISER - The action was at Weiser High School as the National Oldtime Fiddlers' Contest & Festival kicked off Monday. The contest and festival runs through the week and begins at 8 a.m. each day. The festival features fiddlers of all ages, jam sessions, concerts, a carnival along with food booths and more. As of Monday, contest director Layna Hafer said the camp area for contestants was full, and organizers were directing people to the overflow area, which is what they like to see. "Everybody from everywhere is here," Hafer said. "They jam all day and they jam all night, and it's just amazing." Sixty contestants competed Monday in the senior, senior-senior and first round of the Grand National divisions. It was the first time in 20 years the contest featured a change by moving the senior and senior-senior divisions to the first day to give coordinators more time to adjust, but Hafer said the attendance did not seem to be affected. A small crowd formed in the practice room at WHS about lunchtime Monday as competitors in the Grand National division started rosining bows and tuning strings. Robert and Marylou Hays, an elderly couple who traveled from Homedale to watch the contest, had already been at the festival since 8 a.m., but watched enthusiastically as a group of musicians broke into an impromptu performance during the lunch-break. The Hays said they have been attending the contest for 15 years, and have their favorite performers, but admit they "just like the music," especially if it's fast. "We used to make it every day, but we're getting too old," Robert Hays said. "There are just a good bunch of fiddlers. Every one is great. We like them all." The Hays were especially impressed with Monte Gaylord, one of the trio of musicians, playing to the small crowd that had gathered in the practice room. Gaylord, Robert Hays said, used to be a regular at the contest, and was only returning for the first time after a long break. "He's really good, and he's played with a lot of famous people," he said. "We really like listening to him," Marylou Hays added. Gaylord, from Oologa, Okla., who has toured with Brooks and Dunn and just left the road with Clint Black last October after playing with him for seven years, is back after taking about a 16-year hiatus. Gaylord, 42, who said he has been playing the fiddle since he was 14, first played at the festival at age 16, and said he has been privileged to play with and learn from some master players during the years. "We all like each other. It's all camaraderie here," Gaylord said. Although it's always been his goal, ever since he was a teenager playing at the fiddle festival, to win Grand National Champion, the competition this year he knows is stiff, especially among the younger and teenage competitors. "Here's the thing, all they do is stay home and practice and play the fiddle," Gaylord said. "I know because I used to be a teenager, and now I'm 42 and have five kids of my own." In a jam session among contestants the night before, Gaylord found another fan in Ruston Ruwe, Kuna, Idaho, who is competing in the young adult division Friday. His wife, Monique, also is a competitor. He and his wife, Rowe said, have been coming to the fiddle festival since they were children, which is how they first met. After taking some time off from the festival and competing after college, Rowe said he and his wife began competing at the festival again about eight years ago. "We just come for the music really," Rowe said. It was during a Sunday night jam session Rowe and his wife heard Gaylord play, and Rowe said they were impressed with his style. Rowe said, in addition to the jam sessions, which are he and his wife's favorite part of the five-day event, they intend to attend a lot of the workshops and listen to the different concerts. It is nice, Rowe said, to return each year, see old friends, compete and listen to new music. "It seems like it never changes every year," Rowe said. fiddlers' contest | Final results for Senior Division: 1) John Melnichuk, 66, Vancouver, Wash. 2) Vivian Williams, 67, Seattle, Wash. 3) Mabel Vogt, 62, Potlach, Idaho. 4) Kay Werre, 62, Fullerton, Idaho. 5) Duane Stephens, 63, Grangeville, Idaho Final results for Senior-Senior Division: 1) Arthur Kee, 72, Livermore, Calif. 2) Marjorie McFaul, 80, Spokane, Wash. 3) Les Tucker, 78, Woodburn, Ore. 4) Walt Werme, 79, Camano Island, Wash. 5) Lyn Neal, 75, El Centro, Calif. oxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo. Xoxoxoxoxo xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo. Xoxoxoxoxo xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo. Xoxoxoxoxo xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo.