World Fiddle Day is an annual celebration of

fiddle A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Althou ...

music, held on the third Saturday of May. World Fiddle Day events are held around the world, in areas where fiddle music is popular."World Fiddle Day in Kerry village of Scartaglin pays tribute to Sliabh Luachra master Pádraig O’Keeffe"
''Irish Examiner'', May 13, 2016 Pet O’Connell

History

World Fiddle Day was founded by

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

fiddler Caoimhin Mac Aoidh in 2012. The May date was chosen to coincide with the 1737 death of Italian violin craftsman

Antonio Stradivari Antonio Stradivari (, also , ; – 18 December 1737) was an Italian luthier and a craftsman of string instruments such as violins, cellos, guitars, violas and harps. The Latinisation of names, Latinized form of his surname, ''Stradivarius'', a ...

. The first

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

celebration was held in 2013 and that year there was a celebration in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

as well. In 2015, Canada declared World Fiddle Day to be National Fiddle Day as well."Fiddle playing food for the soul"
By Scott Dunn, ''Sun Times'', Owen Sound, May 21, 2016 There were celebrations in Owen Sound, Ontario, St. John's, Newfoundland and Toronto. The Ottawa Fiddle and Stepdancing Competition was held in Richmond, Ontario. In 2016 a World Fiddle Day celebration was held at

Fort York Fort York is an early 19th-century military fortification in the Fort York neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The fort housed members of the British and Canadian militaries and defended the entrance to Toronto Harbour. The fort featu ...

in Toronto on May 21. Yosvani Castañeda Valdés demonstrated Cuban fiddling, while Dan MacDonald performed and presented a workshop about

Cape Breton Cape Breton Island (, formerly '; or '; ) is a rugged and irregularly shaped island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18.7% of Nova Scotia's total area. Although ...

fiddling style. Other events were held in

Owen Sound, Ontario Owen Sound ( 2021 Census population 21,612) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. The seat of government of Grey County, it is located at the mouths of the Pottawatomi and Sydenham Rivers on an inlet of Georgian Bay. The primary tourist ...

and

Scartaglen Scartaglen or Scartaglin () is a village and townland in the Sliabh Luachra area of County Kerry, Ireland. It is located on the R577 regional road, close to the town of Castleisland. As of the 2011 census, the townland of Scartaglin had a popul ...

County Kerry County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. In 2019 Kincardine, Ontario, held its fifth annual World Fiddle Day celebration with a downtown open air fiddling show. The Scartaglen celebration that year included lectures about the lives of local fiddlers Denis Murphy and

Julia Clifford Julia Clifford (19 June 1914 – 18 June 1997) was a fiddler and Irish traditional musician. Life Julia Murphy was born at Lisheen, Gneeveguilla, County Kerry, part of an area in west Munster known as Sliabh Luachra. Her father Bill pla ...

."World Fiddle Day attracts hundreds to Sliabh Luachra capital"
''Radio Kerry News'', 19th May 2019

References

{{reflist May observances International observances Unofficial observances Works about violins and violinists Music festivals staged internationally Fiddles