MUSKOKA’S GOT TALENT SHOWCASE SATURDAY NIGHT AT ALGONQUIN THEATRE ‘TRULY MUSKOKA-WIDE CONTEST’ IN AID OF COMMUNITY LIVING HUNTSVILLE

Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com

HUNTSVILLE  — Muskoka’s got talent and the cream surfaces Saturday.

Ten finalists have been winnowed down the past couple months from 25 applicants for top honour of Muskoka’s Got Talent.

Formerly Huntsville’s Got Talent till 2023, Community Living Huntsville has successfully transitioned the popular music fest after dentist Drew Markham and his wife Janet, who founded it in 2017, moved away.

The had previously donated proceeds CLH and three years ago turned the event over to them, said Jennifer Jerrett, their community engagement specialist who will be on stage welcoming what she hopes will be a full house at 7 p.m. at the Algonquin Theatre.

Click here to buy the $42+ tickets.

Last year’s show raised more than $20,000 for CLH.

Bring your phone – and make sure you have data – to vote on your favourite Muskoka’s Got Talenet contents Saturday night in Huntsville.

“This is truly going to be a Muskoka-wide contest,” said Jennifer Jerrett, their community engagement specialist who will be on stage welcoming what she hopes will be a full house at 7 p.m. at the Algonquin Theatre.

“We have performers from Bala, Rosseau, Gravenhurst, Huntsville and beyond,” she told me this morning. “It’s very unique this year.”

Applicants uploaded their audition videos to YouTube in late November.

And the judges poured over them narrowing the two dozen performers down to 10 who will each perform:

  • Emma McLellan
  • Mel Gutierrez
  • Adessa MacDonald
  • Ashley Montgomery
  • Jon O’Connor
  • Hollie Stronks
  • Mackenzie Lockhart
  • Noah Ruttan
  • Derek Pert & David Laidlaw
  • Mikayla Lynch

Along with a couple of great Huntsville guest performances by pianist Kyung-A Lee and her husband and singer Parres Allen; along with Community Living’s Zach Fitzsimmons, who has a show on Hunter’s Bay Radio and who will again be performing his original song “Labels.”

The four local judges on stage will be Neil Barlow, musician and conductor of the Orillia Silver Band; Sue Kirwin-Campbell, a professional dancer, choreographer and educator; filmmaker Geordie Sabbagh; and Andre Wahl, a professor at Canadore College in the music production and audio recording program.

A fifth secret special guest judge will be seated in the auditorium.

And this is one show where the audience members are encouraged to bring and turn on the cellphones.

Because they will also be able to vote on who makes the cut as the three finalists by using the QR code on their phones.

The top three will then be pared down by the show’s five judges.

Last year’s winner was opera singer Paige Meunier. Singer-songwriter and guitarist Mae Reid came second and musical theatre singer-songwriter Christine Robitaille finished third.

The emcees are Tom (Santa) Young and Huntsville MooseFM’s afternoon funny man Tyler Mathieson.

After winning last year’s Muskoka’s Got Talent contest, local opera singer Paige Meunier performed with the Muskoka Philharmonic weeks later in Gravenhurst. PHOTO Mark Clairmont MuskokaTODAY.com

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