The Hillsborough County Fair 2015 Amateur Talent Show will be on Halloween morning, but the audition sign-up deadline is approaching. Sign-ups have to be received by Monday, Oct. 26.
Auditions will be held Thursday, Oct. 29, and Friday, Oct. 30, two days before the final 15 participants are chosen.
Contestants must first apply online before coming to auditions. The auditions and the final performance will be open and free to the public.
The performers are split into three divisions: youth, ages 5 to 15; adult, ages 16 to 64; and senior, ages 65 and up. Each division will have a first- through fifth-place prize. First, second and third placers get a trophy and fourth- and fifth placers get a certificate.
This is the first official year that the fair, on Sydney Washer Road, in Dover, is hosting a talent show. Talent show director Brenda Owens has high hopes for this year’s performances.
“Things have been going very well,” Owens said. “If it’s not fun and beneficial to the people participating, I don’t want a part in it.”
Owens has been involved in running her family business, Owens’ Air Conditioning & Heating Inc., for 30 years. The business has been involved in the Plant City community for the last three decades and will be a major sponsor for the talent show.
With the performance tent able to hold a maximum of 200 people, the fair has appointed a team to run the event.
Linda Goodrich and Jacqueline Lamb join Owens as talent show directors. To say the team is close would be an understatement. Goodrich is Lamb’s mother, and both have known Owens for years.
The team chose the event’s judges: four individuals with well-rounded knowledge on dances, the arts and performance.
While their connections are tight, the directors are focused on bringing in as many talented performers and audience members as possible. They are in charge of ensuring that the fair’s theme this year, “Blue Jeans and Country Dreams,” will be incorporated into the feel and decorations of the talent show.
There are no restrictions on what contestants’ talents can be, and the show is open to all types of abilities.
“Here, there is nothing saying, ‘You can’t do that or that or that,’” Owens said. “Some people start their careers at the county fair.”
IF YOU GO
WHEN: Sign-ups must be completed by Monday, Oct. 26, at HillsboroughCountyFair.com; auditions start at 6 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 29, and Friday, Oct. 30; performance will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 31.
WHERE: 215 Sydney Washer Road, Dover
PRICE: Free