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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2007-05-23, Page 25Seaforth Idol kicks off Friday Aaron Jacklin Six local musicians will compete in the Seaforth Idol competition this Friday, says Donna Ellis of the Lager House. 'The event is to promote the talent of Seaforth, Dublin and St. Columban," says Ellis, noting that the night is a part- nership between the Lager House and Kim Souch's Heartfelt Music. 'We had the auditions the first Sunday in May," says Ellis. Out of those who auditioned, Amanda Van Miltenburg, Mike Francis, Scott Wilson, Chris Mabb, Victor Moses and Casey Van Bakel made it to Friday's competition. Mike Francis, 57, lives in Seaforth and is orginally from Jamaica. His songs are love songs and he says it doesn't matter if they're country or pop. "I'm looking forward to it," Francis said of the competition. "Tm kind of nervous, you know. I'm just going to take it like any other time I've done this sort of thing." Francis is also competing in the Ontario Open Country Singing Contest in Blyth next month. Chris Mabb, 26, of Mitchell, is mostly excited now, though he expects to get more nervous the closer Friday night gets. "I've been competing and playing the guitar since I was 10 -years old," he said, noting that he's most happy while per - News Kati Durst, of Goderich, made it to the Top She and her band will perform at the Lager r after the Seaforth Idol competition there. forming with a guitar in hand. "I think I'm up against a lot of good competition," Mabb said. Amanda Van Miltenburg, 21, sings "mainly country" and is from just outside of Seaforth. She said she's a little ner- vous but is looking forward to it. "I had to go first (during the auditions), which kind of stunk, but I was okay once I got into it," Van Miltenburg said. The preliminaries start at 9 p.m. on Friday. Two finalists will then compete for first place. The judges will give their critiques and the crowd will pick the win- ner. Kim Souch and Ellis will be judges, but www.ctv.ca 10 in Canadian Idol's fourth season. House in Seaforth on May 26, the day Souch says "we don't have a Simon," referring to the famously blunt judge from the television show. Dave Clark, a friend of Souch's, will be the third judge. Ellis says the event is also to promote Kati Durst of Canadian Idol, who will be playing with her band at the Lager House on May 26. Durst made it to the 1bp 10 on Season 4 of Canadian Idol. "She's from the Goderich area so that's a good feather in her cap, playing in the area she has her roots," says Ellis. With a 230 person cap at the Lager House, Ellis says the tickets for the show on the 26th are selling fast. Local singers to compete in Blyth Mike Francis of Seaforth and Jim VanderPryt of Dublin will compete in the Ontario Open Country Singing Contest the weekend of June 9 and 10 at the Blyth Festival. Formerly held just down the road in Wingham, the competition finds a new home in the Blyth Memorial Community Hall, a stage that has been graced by such Canadian courrtry greats as Paul Brant, George Canyon, Blue Rodeo, and Michelle Wright. The event is being generously spon- sored by am920 and the A Channel, along with a passionate group of local businesses dedicated to providing quality entertainment in the Huron County area. The competition gets underway at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday June 9th, with singers performing in the first rounds of each of the three classes. The singers will be evaluated by a panel of highly experienced judges from Ontario's country music scene, who will decide which singers will compete in the finals, to be held on Sunday June 10th beginning at 1pm. There will be cash prizes for first, second, and third place winners in the open class- es, as well as for the top five in the 18 and under and, 12 and under classes. Adult admission is $12 on Saturday and $15 on Sunday and weekend pass- es are selling fast at only $20 for unlimited access. But this competition is more than great entertainment at an excellent price. "Not only does the contest give us a chance to showcase quality county music talent, it also encourages the growth of local artists. This will be the first time many of these singers have had the opportunity to perform on a professional stage," say artistic direc- tor Eric Coates. And with former winners including country singing icons, Amanda Wilkinson and Beverly Mahood, the competition promises to be a fierce one, between many talented singers from across Ontario, some coming from as far as Timmins and Kapuskasing. For more information on this event, please contact the Blyth Festival Box Office at 1-877-862-5984. Mike Francis, one of the local com- petitors, is also competing in the Seaforth Idol. The Huron Expositor • May 23, 2007 Page 25 far TREVOR ELLIOTT & LONI Sat. May 26th, 2007 8:OOpm- 1:OOam • Dublin Hall Door Prizes • Lunch Provided • Music by DJ $7 in advance $9 at the door Age of Majority Tickets call Debbie 519-615-2921 or Katie 519-348-4027 �I ,ice 0 ,r �a 61 Happy i a- 80th Birth s ay on May 28th, 2007 A r, Pearl Henderson (Voek) Please join us in celebrating at the Seaforth Legion Sunday, May 27/07 A 2 - 4 p.m. Love from all of your family V • 4 Happy 20th Anniversary AL AND MARY NIGH May 23, 2007 Love: Kate, Brittany, Matt and Jake uest for Subm salons • m Huron County Artists for the 8TH ANNUAL HURON COUNTY July 14th to September 16th, 2007 at Huron County Museum 110 North Street, Goderich www.huroncounty.ca/museum Deadline for submissions: 4:30 pm Wednesday, July 4, 2007 Please , . •r info & r*444