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208 Redial: Making fiddles in Idaho

In 1995, John Miller followed his ears to the southwest corner of Kamiah where he found a man named Lowell Kurts, who was quite the fiddle player.

BOISE, Idaho — Editor's note: This story originally aired in May 1995.

For hundreds of musicians and thousands of spectators, the annual Weiser Fiddle Festival is one of the biggest events in Idaho.

After being canceled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the festival is coming back to Weiser with some modifications for safety.

You still have a chance to catch some of the most talented fiddle players in the country as the competition continues into the weekend.

In May 1995, former KTVB life reporter John Miller wanted to know more about the instrument that brings people from all walks of life to a festival in Weiser. He followed his ears to the southwest corner of Kamiah where he found a man named Lowell Kurts, who was quite the fiddle player.

You may not expect to find world-class fiddles in the Treasure Valley, but that's exactly what John Miller found when he met Kurts.

Kurts admitted to John Miller that while his fiddles weren't the prettiest in the world, the quality of his work is far more important to him than the appearance 

Kurts passed away in 2012 at the age of 92. However, plenty of fiddlers remain to carry on his legacy. One of those fiddlers is four-year-old Clark of Post Falls, who is the youngest entry in this year's fiddle contest. 

Clark performed Wednesday night in the "Youngest Fiddler" category.

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