Fiddlefest sees another successful year of performances

Fiddlefest is more than just jigs, waltzes and reels. It's about kinship and community.
That's what the 12th annual John Arcand Fiddle Fest organizers were celebrating on August 6 as they announced the recipient of this year's Lifetime Achievement Award. The closely-guarded surprise was sprung by Vicki Arcand before a tent full of fiddle music lovers.
Piano accompanist Lionel Gilbertson was brought to the stage where John and Vicki presented him with the award.
Gilbertson, born in Vansquoy in 1934, began his musical career at age
five, and by the age of 10 had his own band. Later he played accordion and bass
with a dance band.
He became an integral part of the fiddle family with his piano accompaniment, helping encourage fiddle players young and old. He and his wife Vivian invited people into their home for jam and practice sessions, and Gilbertson made himself available whenever he was needed, even on short notice or in the late hours of the evening.
He also dedicated many hours playing in
seniors centers and helping burgeoning fiddle players work on their contest
pieces.
Two young musicians lent their voices and talents to pay tribute to Gilbertson. Desirée Steele said young people don't get a lot of opportunity to play, with fiddle music being well out of the mainstream music scene. But she built a relationship with Gilbertson based on a foundation of music, she said, and he encouraged her own piano accompaniment talent.
The jam sessions held in his home really meant a lot to her, she said. She played a tune for the appreciative crowd that Gilbertson had taught her.
Her brother James Steele said Gilbertson, and last year's lifetime award recipient Everett Larson were the two men that keep him fiddling today.
He described Gilbertson as patient,
kind and knowledgeable. He and Desirée performed a song that they had written to
honor the man, and called it Lionel's Waltz. They also performed one of his favourite tunes called Monsieur Poisson.
After the tribute, Vicki Arcand announced the next portion of the evening event: a showcase of some of the top fiddlers in Western Canada.
"Our mandate, in a nutshell, is the promotion and preservation of fiddle music," she said, and then introduced a fiddler who represented that mandate to its full extent.
Daniel Gervais was an 11-year-old when he first trained in the workshops at Fiddle Fest, and now he is making a career from his music, travelling the globe, writing and performing his songs for audiences around the world. He came back to Fiddle Fest to be an instructor this year.
Other performers in the evening included Shamma Sabir, who performed the Fireman's Reel, and the combo Caribou Reel/Louis Riel.
The rest of the weekend was filled with fiddle competition and old time dancing.