World Fiddle Day
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History
World Fiddle Day was founded by County Donegal fiddler Caoimhin Mac Aoidh in 2012.[4][5] The May date was chosen to coincide with the 1737 death of Italian violin craftsman Antonio Stradivari.[6] The first Toronto celebration was held in 2013 and that year there was a celebration in Winnipeg as well.
In 2015, Canada declared World Fiddle Day to be National Fiddle Day as well.[7][8] There were celebrations in Owen Sound, Ontario,[9] St. John's, Newfoundland and Toronto.[10] The Ottawa Fiddle and Stepdancing Competition was held in Richmond, Ontario.[11]
In 2016 a World Fiddle Day celebration was held at Fort York in Toronto on May 21. Yosvani Castañeda Valdés demonstrated Cuban fiddling, while Dan MacDonald performed and presented a workshop about Cape Breton fiddling style.[12][13] Other events were held in Owen Sound, Ontario[7] and Scartaglen, County Kerry, Ireland.[3]
In 2019 Kincardine, Ontario, held its fifth annual World Fiddle Day celebration with a downtown open air fiddling show.[14] The Scartaglen celebration that year included lectures about the lives of local fiddlers Denis Murphy and Julia Clifford.[15]