A labor of love
Event director juggles multiple tasks at festival

By JESSICA KELLER
ARGUS OBSERVER
Thursday, June 25, 2009 10:21 AM PDT

National Oldtime Fiddlers’ Contest Executive Director Karen Penner (left) speaks with Brian Harm, Eagle, who will be doing some marketing for the event, about some of the key features he should visit while attending the contest and festival.

WEISER — While the fiddlers are the highlight of the National Oldtime Fiddlers’ Contest and Festival, the woman behind the well-oiled contest and festival machine — Executive Director Karen Penner — works hard to make sure everything runs smoothly during the week of the event.

Penner, 46, has many responsibilities as executive director under the umbrella of the National Oldtime Fiddlers corporation throughout the year, not the least of which is planning the next contest, but during the third week of June her days are dedicated to the contest.

When Penner first moved to Weiser 17 years ago, she said she had no idea what the contest and festival was like, nor did she know much about fiddle music. She attended the festival that first year to experience the culture of Weiser and see what it was all about and was hooked.

In addition to the music, Penner said what impressed her so much about the event was how it attracted so many people from throughout the nation and even other countries to the little city of Weiser year after year for the great music, culture, company and competition.

“It’s just something that draws people,” she said. Needless to say, Penner has not missed a festival event in 17 years and decided to apply for the job of administrative assistant almost five years ago when it came open.

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“I just loved the fiddle contest so much that I thought, ‘you know, that would be a great place to work,’” she said.  This year’s festival is Penner’s third as executive director, and so far, things have gone smoothly except for a few computer glitches early in the week. She attributes a great deal of the success to the volunteers and administrative assistants who help the machine function properly. It’s a great deal of work for everybody, however, and Penner’s days begin at 7 a.m. and end at 11:30 p.m., but she doesn’t mind.

“I love it,” she said. “It’s a labor of love. It’s just so rewarding because you know you’re doing something important that is impacting people in a positive way.”

Penner said the festival and contest have also impacted her by the relationships she’s forged, seeing people return year after year and watching the younger generation grow up with their music.

The fiddling has also impacted Penner. She didn’t know much about fiddle music 17 years ago, she is certainly well acquainted with it now and such a fan, she even started to take fiddle lessons a few months ago.

“It was something I felt I needed to do,” she said, adding when she first began playing she loved it so much she wondered why she waited so long. Fiddle music, like the National Oldtime Fiddlers’ Contest, is steeped in tradition and has endured throughout the years and a number of music genres that have since come and gone, she said. From the toe-tapping jigs to the sweet, heart-wrenching waltzes, Penner said fiddling is America’s music.

“It’s very much Americana,” she said. “It’s traditional and wholesome.”