(Photo: John Arcand and his handmade fiddles-Johnarcand.com)
John Arcand is Métis and originally from Debden, he started playing the fiddle at six years old, with coaching from his father and grandfather.
“That was before the days of power and radio, thats all we had for entertainment was playing the fiddle,” explained Arcand.
Since then, he has made seventeen recordings throughout his career.
Arcand gained his sense of timing and rhythm from learning to watch dancers’ feet when he was younger, he was often referred to as the “dancer’s choice” throughout his long career.
He used to put on an annual Fiddle Fest that continued for almost 25 years and became one of the biggest fiddle events in Western Canada before its closure in 2021.
He is now retired from performing but his love for the fiddle has only grown stronger. Arcand now focuses on building fiddles in his free time and just recently completed his 100th fiddle which he personalized with real gold pieces.
(Photos: John Arcand’s 100th handmade fiddle)
“I was collecting gold from anyone that had gold, stuff like old necklaces and old jewelry, and I got quite a good amount and then I got a couple jewelers to make me the part that I needed and most of the gold I had was around 12 karats and it was too hard to bend, so I had to buy some 22 karat gold to be able to go around some of the corners on the fiddle,” explained Arcand.
Arcand turns 83 years old this year and when he finished his golden fiddle, he immediately started working on his 101st fiddle and is now working on his 102nd.
“Well, I think I was born to be a musician, and I was born to be really good with my hands and I went for it and never looked back,” said Arcand.