Laura Ludwig and Charles Dalton, 2011's overjoyed "Orcas Has Talent" winners. Who will take the prize this year? (Margie Doyle photo)
Tickets to Madrona Room Still Available for $10
Orcas Island Prevention Partnership (OIPP) brings the wildly-popular “Orcas Has Talent” show to the Orcas Center this Saturday night, Feb. 4, at 6:30 p.m.
Eight finalists from the audition show on Jan. 21 will go through a three round elimination process to determine the winner. In addition, Matthew Laslo-White, the winner of the youth competition, has elected to compete against the finalists for “Orcas Has Talent.” He will perform his magic show. The runners-up to the Youth Competition, the M&Ms will also perform at the Finale.
Other finalists for “Orcas Has Talent” are:
- The Ceolinas — Christian Bailey, Tashi Leitch, Monica Connell, Kyra Miles-Era, Paris Wilson, Emmy Carter and Anthony Kaskurs, Jules Mann and Suzanne Meitzner — who have played violin, viola and cello together for over two years;
- Carl Berger, Olga singer-songwriter who accompanies himself on guitar. Berger revised the 60s satirical song “Garbage” at the audition performance;
- Maura Pelleteri, newcomer to Orcas Island who sang her own composition “Not Looking Down,” while accompanying herself on keyboard;
- Marissa Veldman, high school student, who will sing for the third year in the OIPP show; she sang “Hallelujah” from the movie Shrek, at the auditions;
- Rhiannon Lawson, highschool student, who sang “Part of My World,” from the Disney film, The Little Mermaid in auditions for “Orcas Has Talent;”
- “Almost Canadian” school-aged band with Julia Bailey, Dylan Thompson, Emmy Carter, Lisa Carter, Christian Bailey and Christopher Ghazel , formerly known as “Practice Makes Awesome;”
- The Bicycle Horse Brigade, Al Bentley and Matthew “Wally” Walrath’s tenor sax-tuba marching band. Al won the finals slot playing “Boogie in B Flat” at the auditions;
- KT Laslo, a past “Orcas Idol” champion, who sang the Amy Winehouse lament, “Valerie” at the auditions.
The “Orcas Has Talent” show is OIPP’s chief fundraiser each year. The organization has distributed over $800,000 in the last 12 years to engage youth in being models and leaders in alcohol and drug use prevention.
The show this year will take place at Orcas Center on Saturday, Feb. 4, starting at 6:30 p.m. The show will also mark the debut of the the sound system in the Center Stage, and Jim Bredouw will be in charge of the surround-sound system.
“Special Talents on Orcas,” a popular video introduced last year, will be screened as event organizer Donna Laslo has again made the rounds, interviewing shopkeepers and public figures, inviting them to reveal their special talents, to be shown at the Finale. In addition, members of the OIPP non-profit coalition have been invited to display information about their programs in the Madrona Room.
Although the Center Stage auditorium is sold out, tickets are still available in the Madrona Room for $10. Madrona Room attendees can view the whole show, participate in the three rounds of voting to determine the winner, and enjoy the dessert bar.
Donna Laslo reminds the audience that doors open at 6 p.m. for the 6:30 show. All net proceeds from the event go to the Orcas Island Prevention Partnership (OIPP. For more information, email OrcasHasTalent@gmail.com
