Kane County Fair announces talent contest first round junior division finalists
More than 35 talented young people participated in the Kane County Fair Talent Contest auditions held at St. Patrick School in St. Charles on Saturday, June 14, according to Larry Rossi, RPM Creative Music, coordinator of the talent contest.
Twenty-five contestants, nine acts in the junior division, and nine acts in the senior division are now set to compete in the 31st annual Kane County Fair Talent Contest to be held at 7 p.m. Monday, July 14, in the Prairie Events Center at the Kane County Fairgrounds, Randall Road and Route 64 in St. Charles.
Admission is free to all who wish to attend. Bring the whole family! Enter at Gate 2 on Miller Road behind the Fairgrounds. Free parking is available just west of Gate 2. The talent contest will be held in the air-conditioned Prairie Events Center building on the south side of the fairgrounds.
The first-place finalists of the Kane County Fair Talent Contest this year move on to automatically represent Kane County on Jan. 18, 2015 at the Illinois Association of Agricultural Fairs Official Talent Contest State of Illinois competition in Springfield, Illinois.
"We were very pleased with the large number of audition participants this year," said Rossi. "Our judges were highly impressed with the quality and caliber of talent in our community." said Rossi.
First-round participants in the Junior Division (ages 14 and under) moving on to the 2014 Kane County Fair Talent Contest are:
• Dancers Alissa Chu, Karlee Smith and Haley Beilfuss, all of Batavia, in Jazz Hip Hop Dance with the song, "Invade"
• Soloist Sophia Peterson of Elgin with the song "Ave Maria"
• Soloist Dora Duhownik of St. Charles with the song "For Good"
• Soloist Olivia Kelley of Geneva with the song "Don't Know Why"
• Dancer Grace Lenighan of St. Charles with "Think of the Vocal"
• Soloist Francesca Carravetta of St. Charles with "Let it Go"
• Soloist Alexandra Duckett of St. Charles with "Skyfall"
• Lyrical dancer Erin Seales of St. Charles with "Let it Go"
• Geneva Cosmic Girls dancers Mia Soderquist Hansen of St. Charles and CJ Silverman, Meena Gosain, Kelli Kaufman and Sadie Zeller, all of Geneva, jazz dance
Contestants will be judged on technique, stage presentation, audience appeal, and appearance. Cash prizes will be awarded in each division: first place, $200; second place, $125; and third place, $75. All other finalists will receive $20 per act.
Everyone is encouraged to stop by and enjoy the talent contest winners' performances at 3 p.m. during the Kane County Fair on Saturday, July 19 on the main stage.
The annual contest is open to any person or group (school/organization) residing in Kane County. For more information and how to enter future contests, call (847) 622-9935 or email KaneCoTalent@aol.com.