Mary Eileen Casey of Westfield sings Ave Maria at the Sunday, March 16 auditions for Southwick’s Got Talent. This regional talent show will be performed on Saturday, April 5 at 6 p.m. (Photo submitted)
SOUTHWICK – During business hours, Mary Eileen Casey carries deliveries for a Westfield florist. Casey also lent her stunning soprano voice to an a cappella rendition of Ave Maria at auditions for Southwick’s Got Talent. Other audition stand-outs included 17-year-old Suffield High School student, Alyssa Bourdeau with a gorgeous interpretation of Sarah McLachlan’s Angel; Sam Booher, a retiree from Westfield who played the fiddle while accompanying himself on harmonica, and 16-year-old Amy Stefanik of Feeding Hills, who usually performs with the youth band, Fuel, but who auditioned with a solo of Demi Lovato’s Skyscraper.
If selected, these and other exceptional area performers will make up the cast of Southwick’s Got Talent, a regional talent show designed to spotlight the students, grandparents, office workers, and, yes, floral carriers who are seldom on stage, but should be.
“It will be a really, really fun night,” said Kathryn Elias, creative director for Christ Lutheran Church in Southwick, which will host Southwick’s Got Talent on Saturday, April 5 at 6 p.m. “We have two celebrity judges: Carolee Salerno, who is a jazz singer and a former Fox 61 news reporter, and WLCQ radio personality Leslie [Prieto]. They’ll narrow down the field to three adults and three youths, and then the audience will select the final winners.”
The top youth performer will be awarded $100, while the top adult performer will receive $200. And, according to Elias, although competition will be amicable, it will be tough. “We have lots of people not just from our church, but from the surrounding communities. And we have a wide variety of performers, too. We even have a fire-eater coming. She used to work for the circus.”
Priced lower than a family night at the movies, Southwick’s Got Talent not only promises an evening of music and entertainment, but also refreshments, raffle baskets, and giveaways. The Q radio will send their “Street Team” to do some live broadcasting from the event, and, most important, audience members will have the opportunity to cheer, applaud, and even vote for their neighbors, classmates, co-workers, and friends as these everyday stars let their talents shine on stage.
Tickets to Southwick’s Got Talent are $10 for adults, $5 for children, and $20 for a family of four. They can be purchased on line at www.clcsouthwick.org, in person at 568 College Highway, Southwick, MA, or reserved at (413) 569-5151.
