Contests

No Contest Entry Fees
Contest participation is included with paid admission arm bands.
Register at the designated area near the stage at the festival prior to contest call times.

Singing & Instrumental Contests

1:00 p.m. - Old-Time Singing
1st $100, 2nd $75, 3rd $50

1:40 p.m. - Old Time Banjo
1st $100, 2nd $75, 3rd $50

2:20 p.m. - Old Time Fiddle
1st $100, 2nd $75, 3rd $50

3:00 p.m. - Old Time Band
1st $500, 2nd $400, 3rd $300

Singing Contest: solo, duet, or trio; a cappella or limited accompaniment; one to two songs (as time allows).

Banjo, Fiddle, Band Contests: one to three tunes (as time allows), no finals.

Bands must include at least three instrumental musicians and perform two to three songs (as time allows) with at least one number with vocals.

Successful contestants will demonstrate traditional old-time musical methods and style within the context of this festival.

Musicians who have won first place in a category two consecutive years must sit out of that category for a year. 

Dance Contests

3:40 p.m. - Junior Buck Dance (ages 25 and under)
1st $100*$200, 2nd $75, 3rd $50

4:15 p.m. - Adult Buck Dance (ages 26-50)
1st $100*$200, 2nd $75, 3rd $50
   
4:50 p.m. - Senior Buck Dance (ages 51 and up)
$100*$200, 2nd $75, 3rd $50

5:25 p.m. - National Old Time Buck Dancing Championship
$250*$500 Grand Prize

*For 2025, due to the generosity of an anonymous donor, all first-place dance prizes will be doubled this year!!

The Tennessee Old-Time Music and Dance Association confers the National Old-Time Buck Dancing Champion
at MaupinFest by declaration of the United States Congress (see links below). 

Contestants eligible to dance for the National Championship contest must finish first in their respective age categories (Junior, Adult, Senior)
or have previously placed first in a buck/flatfoot dance contest in the United States recognized and evidenced by the MaupinFest dance judges.

The first-place winner will be awarded $250*$500 along with the National Championship plaque.

Dancers who have won first place in a category two consecutive years must sit out of that category for a year.