08/10/2026
What an incredible day at the 5th Annual Portland Youth Fiddle Contest! Results below!
I am so grateful to everyone who helped make this year’s contest happen. Thank you to every contestant who got up there and played, to the parents, families, teachers, and accompanists who support these young musicians, and to all of the volunteers who jumped in wherever they were needed.
A huge thank you to our judges (Natalie Guptill, Lorelei Hein, Ruby Gunter), MC (Mia Dawson), sound crew (Sherry McKenzie) and everyone who helped with registration, score tallying, setup, cleanup, and all of the little things behind the scenes that make an event like this possible.
Thank you to the Oregon Oldtime Fiddlers' Association , OOTFA District 7, the Kielhorn Grant, Fiddles on Wheels, and Oaks Amusement Park for helping us make this year’s contest possible.
Most of all, thank you to these young fiddlers. Watching kids of different ages and experience levels get on stage, share their music, support one another, and continue this tradition is exactly why we do this.
Congratulations to all of our 2026 Portland Youth Fiddle Contest participants and winners!
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NOVICE 9 & UNDER
1st Place: Carter Pearce
2nd Place: Clarissa Kroontje
NOVICE 10–18
1st Place: Blake Smith
2nd Place: Naomi Brazel
SMALL FRY, 8 & UNDER
1st Place: Bradley Guptill
2nd Place: Adeline Meek
3rd Place: Poppy Pulliam
4th Place: Loulu Guptill
JUNIOR-JUNIOR, 9–12
1st Place: Elliot Christensen
2nd Place: William Connell
3rd Place: Annabelle Bubna
4th Place: Dylan Savage
5th Place: Harper Nelson
6th Place: Leonora Anderson
7th Place: Greta Guptill
8th Place: Birdie Pulliam
JUNIOR, 13–18
1st Place: Julia Smith
2nd Place: Amelia Mehloff
3rd Place: Sapphire Rain
Youngest Fiddler: Clarissa Kroontje 3 years old!
Fiddle Raffle winner: Erik Smith
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Congratulations to every single contestant. Whether you went home with first place or simply had the courage to walk onto that stage and share your music, you were an important part of this year’s contest. We hope you keep playing, keep learning, keep showing up, and come back to play for us again next year.
It takes a community to keep traditions like this alive, and this weekend was a wonderful reminder of why it is so important to give the next generation a place to play, compete, learn from one another, and make friendships through music.
Thank you for being part of year five and for helping us continue the tradition.
Thank you to "The Big Wheel" for these photos! We will post photos from Fondest Photography soon.
We’ll see you next year for the 6th Annual Portland Youth Fiddle Contest!
