On the third weekend of September I returned to the National Hammer Dulcimer Championship held during the Walnut Valley Music Festival in Winfield, Kansas.

Preparing for the return, I chose to enter the fingerstyle guitar competition as well for some extra stage practice to help alleviate the performance jitters. This time instead of driving for hours on end, I chose to fly into Tulsa, OK, about two hours from the festival; this helped reduce the exhaustion of a long drive, leaving me better prepared to compete in the intense heat. The nerves still attacked, but not as bad with some preparation and lots of prayer. I didn't advance beyond round one in guitar, but that was what I expected—there's a lot of amazing musicians in that competition. For the hammer dulcimer competition on Saturday, I made it to round two and once again placed as a finalist, tying for fourth.

The whole trip was a great experience—it was my first time flying with a hammer dulcimer and all went well. My aunt was able to come along and we enjoyed hearing some of the festival performers, trying out the food trucks, and seeing the countryside in addition to the competition times.

Will I try again? Maybe someday, maybe not…but I know Who knows the answer—My Savior, Jesus Christ who saw me through this time and will continue to guide my steps. (And I'm actually quite happy with “two-time finalist.”)

You can watch Katelyn's dulcimer round one here and round two here.