Results of our October Contest!

On October 29, 2011, The Bluegrass Shack hosted its annual October Fiddle, Banjo and Flattop Guitar Contest.  Wow!  What an amazing contest!  We had a total of 78 contestants this year.  Every year, I am amazed at all the talent, especially of the youngsters that are up and coming.  This year was no exception.  In fact, it seemed to me that EVERYONE is getting better.

First of all, I want to thank our judges, Dan and Iggie.  Chelsea also helped with judging Junior Banjo, and Nikki was Junior Judge in Training helping with the Open Banjo.  Carla was our scorekeeper, and all those contestants really had her and our judges hopping!  Earl was running all over the place helping out with the food downstairs, medals and trophies upstairs, and everything else in between.

I also want to give an extra special thank you to Lorraine and Ron, who managed all of the kitchen including food, food preparation, beverages, and cleanup.  Janice, Mary, John, Cindy, Terry and Dennis also helped out in the kitchen.  Ron made a really cool cardboard fiddle hanger to which the food prices were attached.

We had our largest crowd ever, with many folks staying through the entire contest.  We appreciate your support, as do all the contestants!  Susan Crider won the fiddle outfit, and Zachery Bergmann won the jack-o-lantern that Zane carved.  50/50 winner was Amelia Price.  Congratulations to you all!

A big thank you to all the contestants as well.  Obviously, we couldn't have a contest without you.  You keep us entertained and inspire us!  Thank you to Cody and Rick Hall, and also to Earl for taking pictures of all of the contestants for us.  I will be posting the pictures on Facebook.

Here are the results of the contest:

Junior Guitar (10 & Under):
1st Place - Colin Gray
2nd Place - J.C. David
3rd Place - Claire Rausch
4th Place - Haley Fizer
5th Place - Noah Lintker
Youngest - Isabelle Hobbs

Junior Guitar (16 & Under):
1st Place - Rosemary Hall
2nd Place - Paige Johnson
3rd Place - Matthew Worthington
4th Place - Silas Demay
5th Place - Colin Gray
Most Entertaining - Nikki Warnecke

Open Guitar (17 & Over):
1st Place - John Brewer
2nd Place - Zane Prosser (Oldest)
3rd Place - Charlie Hall
4th Place - Mike Wall
5th Place - Chelsea Perkinson (Most Entertaining)

Junior Banjo (16 & Under):
1st Place - Lucas Worthington
2nd Place - Emily Hall
3rd Place - Nikki Warnecke
4th Place - Christiana Gray; Josh Dolan
5th Place - Jacob Morgan
Youngest - Joy Worthington (Most Entertaining)

Adult Beginner Banjo:
1st Place - Kevin Martin
2nd Place - Liz Durako
3rd Place - Dennis Huebner
4th Place - Lori Heinrich

Open Banjo (17 & Over):
1st Place - Zach Hardesty (Most Entertaining)
2nd Place - Chelsea Perkinson
3rd Place - Amelia Price
4th Place - Makayla Smith
5th Place - Larry Reuss

Senior Banjo (60 & Over):
1st Place - Ralph White (Oldest)

Adult Beginner Fiddle:
1st Place - Denise Voegele (Most Entertaining)
2nd Place - Susan Crider

Junior II Fiddle (12 & Under):
1st Place - Justin Heinen
2nd Place - Alex Rausch
3rd Place - Patrick Garner
4th Place - Nathanael Worthington
5th Place - Caroline Stewart
Youngest - Isabella Worthington
Most Entertaining - Audrey Neel

Junior I Fiddle (13-17 Years):
1st Place - Rosemary Hall
2nd Place - Paige Johnson
3rd Place - Angela Winkeler
4th Place - Sarah Marsch
5th Place - Emily Morgan
Most Entertaining - Makayla Smith

Open Fiddle (18 & Over):
1st Place - Chelsea Perkinson
2nd Place - Joy Winkeler
3rd Place - Tim Dever
4th Place - Liz Durako
5th Place - Ann White

Senior Fiddle (60 & Over):
1st Place - Zane Prosser
2nd Place - Fred Pringle (Most Entertaining)
3rd Place - Bill Weiss
4th Place - John Barnett (Oldest)