Fiddlers on the Lions stage
By Chris Simon

Fiddler Lloyd Preston performs.

Lloyd Preston has been fiddling for over 50 years.

The Barrie Old Tyme Fiddle Club member fondly remembers growing up on a Thornton farm, without television and most of the entertainment in today's culture. It's when he learned to fiddle as a form of entertainment.

"A lot of people like the music. It's what brings a lot of people here, their love of old time fiddling," he said, before a jam session at the Thornton Lions Hall last week. "It's an earlier time, a more rural setting, when people provided their own entertainment. I grew up on a farm, and people made their own entertainment. There was a number of families getting together almost every weekend, playing cards and listening to good music."

For many, fiddling is an art form from the past. It takes residents on a journey, back to the musical preferences of parents and grandparents, when towns and families would gather for an evening of songs, dancing and camaraderie.

It's what the club is trying to restore. Each month, the club hosts a fiddle dance at the Lions Club, allowing fiddlers play together in song, and giving residents and opportunity to square and line dance, said club president Cecil Denney.

"I've only been playing the fiddle for the last 12 years. My dad and two brothers played the fiddle and violin. (So) I got into the guitar; they said they didn't need any more fiddlers, they needs accompaniment," he said laughing. "You meet a lot of nice people. This group is a lot of great people.

"You have to have the interest and the desire."

The popularity of the jam sessions have grown, since all residents are invited to attend. The club consistently gets over 80 people to attend the dances.

"It's the same people who enjoy coming," said Denney. "They dance and everything. No drinking, no smoking, there's coffee and pop. That's the way we want to keep it."

Last week, the club held another dance. As the show began, lights in the hall dimmed, giving those in attendance an old time feel. The band, which consisted of about 15 fiddlers, guitarists, and a bass and piano player, casually belted out a variety of music from a bygone era .

Many of the musicians smiled, as onlookers began crowding the dance floor.

"You'll see a dozen to 15 fiddlers up here on stage, they play a jam for about a half hour. We get people to come up, name a tune, and they'll play it," said Denney.

Preston said fiddling is growing again in popularity.

"In Canada, there's a tremendous amount of young people who are learning to play from their very early years, who play not only with the authentic style, but have formal instruction," he said. "When I was a boy, for every young person who played the fiddle, there's 100 today. If you go to any of the contests, there will be at least 80 (young fiddlers participating)."

Admission to each dance is $3. For more information, call Denney at 458-9996.