She's coming back to visit her fiddle family when she returns to Prince George Thursday.
Kelli Trottier, who grew up in Ontario, is a fiddler, singer and step dancer, offering a variety show at the Elder Citizen Recreation Centre, 1692 Tenth Ave., Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
"At the show there will be lots of fiddle, lots of step dancing and singing," Trottier said. "The biggest news we've got is that we now have a National Fiddling Day."
Trottier was key in making that happen when she was invited to speak before the senate to make the pitch to have a special day honouring fiddlers who play a significant role in Canadian cultural history.
"I was able to talk on behalf of Canadian fiddlers and talk about the different styles across the country so now the third Saturday of May is National Fiddling Day," Trottier said.
To honour the designation Trottier was inspired to write a song, The Fiddling Two Step, that's better known as the Fiddle Bill.
"It traveled across the country so quickly and so many fiddlers in B.C. picked it up and publicized it in their newsletters so I'm anxious to get out there and share this tune face-to-face with a lot of fiddlers," Trottier said, whose last trip to P.G. was in 2015. "It feels like it's been too long since I've been out."
Trottier doesn't have an agent or manager.
"So with the help of everybody on that end the tour has come together," Trottier said. "Everybody just jumped on board with enthusiasm right from the get go, so I really appreciate that."
During the show Trottier said the audience can expect a lot of laughter.
"I tend to be kind of a silly person," Trottier laughed. "I like to have fun. I want people to sing along, tap their toes or get up and dance if they want to and just have fun with me. I like a lot of interaction with the crowd. I don't want to get up on stage and look out at bright lights. I like to see people's faces so I like to feel like I know people and they know me by the end of the show. I like to keep it personal if I can."
Trottier said she loves talking to people after the show, too and invites the audience to come and introduce themselves.
"My style of music is obviously traditional fiddle music but then there's singing, there's folk and maybe a little western swing and country and Celtic and I just kind of do what I enjoy and it tends to be what suits me well and so if I'm comfortable then hopefully the listeners are comfortable," Trottier said.
After performing Thursday night, Trottier will offer a step dance workshop Friday morning for an hour beginning at 9:30 at 200-111 Tabor Blvd. South, where she will offer an introduction to Ottawa Valley step dancing. People can get the basics and then follow up with Trottier's step dance DVD that she will have available for sale at both the show and the workshop.
Tickets for the show are $20 and $15 for the workshop. For more information call Doug at 250-962-6825 or emial [email protected].
