Thursday, July 14, 2016
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Community I 11
Essex Free Press
Youth showcase talent to rise to fame
Regional band Millennia will move to compete at Western Fair.
Emily Garrod, Mikayla Bondy, and Teodora Taleski will move on to compete at Western Fair.
by Sylene Argent The region is full of young people who have amazing talent in a variety of ways. And, some of these youth were able to showcase their special gifts on Sunday afternoon during the Essex Fun Fest as TD Canada Trust presented the annual Rise 2 Fame Youth Talent Search. Two age categories were offered to the youth competitors, who mainly offered singing and instrumental performances. The participants, leading up to the event, continuously practiced to ensure they could
put forward the best performances they could for the audience, and also for the panel of judges, who all had musical backgrounds. Katie Brochert is the Rise 2 Fame Youth Talent Search Coordinator. She said the purpose of the event is, “To let the town see the local talent and give young artists a chance to get stage time to show the talent they have.” Being able to see the variety of talent on Sunday morning was an amazing experience, she commented. She said the 2016 installment of this event was successful, and
had, “A lot of dynamic competitors.” The panel of judges assessed each of the performance, and selected a few of the participants to move on to compete at the Western Fair. They assessed each participant based on natural ability, quality of performance, showmanship, and audience engagement. Before coordinating the Rise 2 Fame Youth Talent Search, Brochert was a competitor. Being able to move onto the Wester Fair, she said, is an incredible experience. “It’s unreal. It’s amazing to be in front of hundreds of people who
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are there to support you, and to have the opportunity to show what you have. It gives you that sense that anything is possible.” Junior Competitor Emily Garrod, who sang Shania Twain’s “KaChing,” was selected to move on in the competition. Also moving on to compete at the Wester Fair is Mikayla
Jared Porter performed Alice in Chains song “Down in a Hole” during the Rise 2 Fame Youth Talent Search on Sunday. He will move on to compete at Western Fair.
Bondy, who sang “Burn” from Hamilton, Teodora Taleski who sang “Don’t Let Me Down,” and the band Millennia, who performed Eddie Money’s “Two Tickets to Paradise” during the competition and few additional tunes as the judges tallied scored. Essex area resident
Jared Porter performed Alice in Chains song “Down in a Hole,” providing guitar and vocals. He will also move on in the competition. He said he signed up to participate in the talent competition that morning when he found out about it at the Fun Fest.