Searching for stars

The stars will be coming out a bit earlier this year.
Heading into its fourth year, the Stars in the Park talent competition is undergoing a schedule change that will stretch the event from mid-May through early August.
Organizers of the competition, sponsored by Jay County Chamber of Commerce in partnership with its Berne and Hartford City counterparts, wanted to ensure that the finals would be contested before the start of the school year. That was not the case last summer.
Other factors, including the shift in the Jay County Fair calendar — it runs July 11 through 16 this summer, a week later than it has been in recent years — and the Hartford City chamber’s desire to have its quarterfinal be part of the Heritage Days festival in May, forced a significant shift. The deadline to enter for the two Portland quarterfinal competitions is Tuesday, and auditions will be May 23.
While entries have been strong for the Hartford City and Berne competitions — they will be held May 18 and June 16 respectively — finding contestants for the Portland quarterfinals has been a slow process thus far. Fewer than 10 have signed up so far.
“I think the reason is, in past years with Stars in the Park, our first quarterfinal was after the fair,” noted Stars in the Park chair John Boggs, adding that auditions have been in late June. “This year, our last quarterfinal is before the fair.”
Stars in the Park is open to any type of talent, with organizers suggesting a long list that includes singing, dancing, comedy, cheerleading, ventriloquism and juggling. One of the contestants who has already signed up to perform in Portland is a magician, age 86.
Boggs pointed out that while the majority of competitors have been singers, five of the 15 award-winners in the first three years have gone to dance acts.
“We’re open to anything,” said Boggs, noting that sometimes the non-singing acts score well with the judges because of originality. “We certainly want to have as many people to audition as possible.”
Following auditions, 12 competitors will be chosen for each of the four quarterfinals, the last two of which will be June 30 and July 7 at Hudson Family Park in Portland. After taking a week off to accommodate the fair, the Stars in the Park semifinals will both be at Hudson Family Park on July 21 and 28 followed by the finals on Aug. 6.
Prize money remains the same, with a grand prize of $1,250. The runner-up gets $500, and the second runner-up and two fan favorites each receive $250.
Voting will get a slight tweak. Those in attendance will continue to get three votes each. As in past years they will also be able to make additional votes for $1 apiece, but this year those extra votes will contribute to the fan favorite tally only.
A fan favorite, the top four highest scoring competitors (the judges votes will count for two-thirds and fan voting one-third) and a judge’s save will advance from each quarterfinal and semifinal.
Boggs feels the popularity of talent competitions like “The Voice,” “America’s Got Talent” and “Dancing with the Stars” as well as a community feel have helped attendance grow over the first three years of Stars in the Park.
“I think seeing someone step up, an amateur basically, perform, and then get surprised by how talented they are, is really enjoyable,” he said. “The other part of it is Hudson Family Park is just such a wonderful venue and people enjoy being out there when we have good weather. … I think the talent contests are kind of en vogue right now. Because it’s local, it has the added appeal.”