Founder Mary Vanorny was frequenting the local Irish sessions and getting more involved with the community when she noticed that often fewer women were involved in these gatherings. With a daughter who was up and coming on the fiddle, and just generally wanting some female companions she could play music with, Mary set to work to create more space for women. Originally the F4 Fiddlers, MNáFiddlers began meeting in 2017 as a space to come together and play tunes, support each other's endeavors, and have fun. We listened to recordings of great fiddlers and tried to notate and play their tune settings, eventually bringing those tunes out to the community through sessions and bands we were part of. At some point, our inspiration turned to listening to other female fiddle players, often Julia Clifford, Lucy Farr, Liz Carroll and Aggie Whyte. Around the same time, some really wonderful things happened around the globe--the Fair Plé movement started to gain momentum, the Sí Fiddlers formed (group of women fiddlers from Donegal) and began performing, and right here in Minnesota, the Celtic Junction’s Eoin McKiernan library got off the ground and provided an array of resources to help us find new (old) materials. We began arranging sets and experimenting with writing harmonies and tunes. Covid felt like a good time to pause, but we kept going anyway with online meetings. This was a great way for us to share arrangements with each other and to get more organized. Upon meeting in person again, the group has taken off beyond Mary’s wildest dreams, and the camaraderie and high quality of musicianship have been super motivating. We started performing in 2024 and hope to continue to share our music with wider audiences.