BRING YOUR FIDDLE AND YOUR FRIENDS; FREDERICKTOWN HOSTS FIDDLE CONTEST

FREDERICKTOWN -- Bring your friends and your fiddle and you may just end up with a trophy.

The M&M Opry near Fredericktown is hosting a fiddler's contest Friday night that will benefit the Madison County Recovery Center. The contest is open to any fiddle player and advance registration is not required.

"We're hoping to get 10 or 12 contestants that will give us a real good show," said Carole Magnus, a member of the steering committee at the recovery center.

Judging the competition will be the audience. So Magnus advises contestants to bring friends and fans. Contestants will be allowed one guitar accompaniment.

A $5 entry fee will be collected at the start of the contest, which begins at 9 p.m. Performing before the contest at 7 p.m. will be the musical group Musicmasters. Admission is $2.50 for adults; children under 12 will be admitted free.

Magnus said all proceeds from admission, a silent auction and a 50-50 drawing will help keep the recovery center open.

The silent auction will include new and like-new items donated by local businesses, she said. Lots of door prizes will be given away, she said.

The recovery center, she said, is open seven days a week and is a place where recovering alcoholics and those with drug dependencies can hold support meetings. "It's a place where people can get together and realize they can enjoy life without those things," she said.

She said it takes about $350 a month to keep the center open, all of which must be raised or donated. The center, which serves a five-county area, receives no state funding.

Victims of abuse also use the center to hold support meetings, she said.

"People come to the center to regain their health and good outlook on life," she said.

Magnus said the owners of the opry, Bill and Darlene Minson, have donated the use of the building for the contest. It's a family-oriented hall and no alcohol is allowed, she said.

M&M Opry is just north of Fredericktown along Highway OO.