Every year over Memorial Day weekend in Oxford, Mississippi, the World Championship Old-Time Piano Playing Contest is held to provide an opportunity for aspiring pianists to compete and learn in a stimulating atmosphere, and to educate people about old-time piano music written prior to 1940.

Through the years, the contest has provided more than $50,000 in prize money to more than 500 piano players from across the United States and from five foreign countries. Players in 2017 will compete in two divisions—Regular and Junior—as they vie for close to $6,000 and trophies—including in the Piano Duet and New Rag Contests, where aspiring composers present their original tunes.