Anne Deyme, owner of Ryson's Music, displays a violin signed by Nataile MacMaster and her husband Donnell Leahy, one of the prizes at this Saturday's Fiddle Fest competition, which will tie in with the Downtown Classic Car show.

There will be a hoedown on the front lawn of the former St. Paul Street United Church this Saturday as the inaugural Downtown St. Catharines Fiddle Fest gets underway.

Tying in with the sixth annual Classic Car Show, the Fiddle Fest will feature a competition in 10 fiddle and five step dance categories. Anne Deyme, owner of Ryson's Music and organizer for the festival, said the competition will feature players from across the region. But since there are no other fiddle festivals anywhere across Ontario this weekend, there could be fiddlers from all across the province.

"By the luck of the draw I picked that," she said of the weekend schedule. "It's bringing people into the city."

Among the prizes are a quilt donated by the church and, for the competitor with the highest score, a violin donated by Ryson's and shipped to Canadian musician Natalie MacMaster to be autographed. Deyme said the violin, which is coloured a light purple, was quite attractive to MacMaster, and jokes it almost wasn't returned.

"Natalie didn't want to give it back," Deyme said.

Elizabeth Fritshaw, event co-ordinator for the Downtown Association, said the festival is a good fit for the car show and will give the enthusiasts a reason to stay in the downtown longer.

"A lot of them will enjoy the fiddle music," she said. "It's not just country, not just Celtic. It's used in quite a variety of genres, so I think it's a really good tie together.

"And it's one more thing to draw people down here," she said.

The festival will also provide an opportunity for people to tour the church, which will hold its official grand opening as the new Silver Spire United Church, the amalgamation of the St. Paul Street United Church with the former Memorial and Welland Avenue churches.

Deyme said Fiddle Fest also stretches the festivities on St. Paul Street beyond Carlisle Street when traditionally most events seemed to centre around the intersection of St. Paul and James Streets. She said there's now more effort in including all businesses on St. Paul Street in Downtown Association activities.

"Everybody seems to be getting together for this," she said. "So far, the businesses -- we're all quite happy. Everybody's going out of their way for this."

Fiddle Fest runs at 366 St. Paul St., from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.