About the Worthen Memorial Old Time Fiddlers Contest in Yuma, Arizona.
Each winter, fiddlers, pickers, dancers, and music-lovers gather in Yuma for a tradition that has been part of the desert Southwest for nearly half a century. The Worthen Memorial Old Time Fiddlers Contest began in 1976, when local fiddler Charlie Worthen and his wife Lois helped launch an old-time contest with the Yuma Jaycees as part of the city’s winter rodeo festivities.
What started as a homegrown gathering for friends and neighbors quickly grew into one of Arizona’s longest-running fiddle contests. For decades it has brought together players from across the Southwest to swap tunes, compete on stage, and keep traditional fiddling alive in southern Arizona.
Honoring Charlie and Lois Worthen
Charlie Worthen was a much-loved Texas-style swing fiddler who played a key role in Yuma’s music community. Musicians who came to Yuma in the late 1970s remember Charlie as the welcoming fiddler who handed them an instrument, taught them classic waltzes like “Westphalia Waltz,” and invited them into the jam.
After Charlie passed away, the contest was renamed the Charlie and Lois Worthen Memorial Old Time Fiddlers Contest to honor the couple’s role in nurturing old-time music in Yuma. The Worthen family’s partnership with the Yuma Jaycees / Silver Spur Rodeo kept the contest tied to the rodeo season and helped it grow as a companion event celebrating local culture, youth, and music. For many years, Dennis Russell contributed handmade wooden trophies to the winners, an artistic touch remembered by many competitors.
A Weekend of Tunes, Dancing, and Community
From its earliest years at the Jaycee clubhouse, the contest has been about much more than scores and trophies. Longtime participants recall evenings where the music went from dusk until midnight: jam circles around the hall, square-dance callers leading “Cotton-Eyed Joe,” and dancers filling the floor while fiddlers traded leads.
Today that spirit continues at the Silver Spur Rodeo Clubhouse on East County 14th Street, where the contest is hosted by Yuma Silver Spur Rodeo in collaboration with the Arizona Old Time Fiddlers Association’s Territorial Chapter.
A typical weekend includes:
- Fiddlers’ Show & Dance on Friday and Saturday evenings, open to dancers and listeners.events.kyma.com+1
- Contest rounds on Saturday and Sunday, beginning in the morning and running through the day.events.kyma.com+1
- Workshops and informal jams where newer players can learn directly from seasoned fiddlers.hangoutstorage.com
Divisions for Every Age and Skill Level
The Worthen Memorial has always prided itself on being a family-friendly contest with room for everybody—from first-time contestants to seasoned champions. Over the years, the event has offered multiple age-based divisions (from “pee wee” and junior divisions up through senior and “senior-senior” classes), along with a Grand Champion round where the top players from each division compete for the overall title.
In recent years the contest has also featured a variety of specialty divisions, including:
- Novice
- Trick & Fancy Fiddling
- Twin Fiddle
- Husband & Wife (or partner)
- Vocal, Accompanist, and Other Stringed Instruments
These categories keep the weekend lively and showcase the full range of traditional string-band music that surrounds old-time fiddling.
A Contest with Staying Power
By the mid-2000s, the Worthen Memorial had been running for three decades, celebrated as an annual January gathering for fiddlers from across the country. Like many grassroots events, it has weathered venue changes and occasional pauses, but the Yuma Silver Spur Rodeo and the Yuma community have continually rallied to keep the tradition alive. Celebrating 50 years of music in 2027, the Yuma Silver Spur Rodeo Annual Worthen Memorial Old Time Fiddlers Contest, continues to be held in partnership with the Arizona Old Time Fiddlers Association at the Silver Spur Rodeo Clubhouse.
The Annual Contest – 2026 and Beyond
The 48th Annual Worthen Memorial Old Time Fiddlers Contest carries forward nearly fifty years of Yuma history:
- Honoring the legacy of Charlie and Lois Worthen, whose love of fiddling and community started it all.
- Showcasing generations of fiddlers—from young beginners to seasoned seniors—on the same stage.
- Celebrating Yuma’s role as a gathering place for traditional music alongside the long-running Yuma Silver Spur Rodeo, founded in 1946.
Whether you come to compete, to dance, or simply to listen, the Worthen Memorial Old Time Fiddlers Contest is an invitation to be part of an ongoing story of music and community.