FILE PHOTO/BAYSIDE GAZETTE
Only Lonesome performed at a previous convention. 

By Stewart Dobson, Editor

(Sept. 21, 2023) In 2020, it was the coronavirus. In 2023, the most likely cause of the cancelation of the Berlin Fiddlers Convention is nimbostratus.

Those would be the heavy storm clouds that deliver prolonged rain,  which is what the National Weather Service is predicting locally for Friday night and  Saturday in Berlin.

That, along with the strong winds associated with a low pressure system off the coast, led Berlin Chamber of Commerce officials to make the call midweek to pull the plug on what would have been the 31st edition of the annual event.

“Making sure we approach these events with a sense of fiscal responsibility [so we can do it again next year] is every bit as important as making sure everyone has a good time at the events in the first place,” chamber Executive Director Ryan Nellans said in an email.

This weekend’s forecast virtually guarantees that good times will be hard to find, as the weather service reported that an intensifying low pressure system will move into the area Friday night.

The weather is expected to bring with it winds on the coast gusting up to 40 mph and rain totals creeping into the 4-inch range from Friday through Sunday.

That could change, but one thing is certain: fiddlers can’t fiddle in the rain because the rosin they use on their bows absorbs moisture from the air. If the rosin absorbs too much, it prevents the bow from gliding across the strings as it should.

Besides, spectators don’t like rain much either.