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Boone Community Network Hosts Local Talent Showcase and Fundraiser at The Local on Saturday, Jan. 24

By Madison Fisler Lewis

Jan. 19, 2015. On Saturday, Jan. 24, The Boone Community Network will host a local talent showcase fundraiser at The Local on Howard Street in downtown Boone. Held from 9 p.m. until midnight, the talent showcase will serve as an evening of community fun and as a way for the community to learn more about the organization.

“We did this before and it did really well to bring a whole bunch of groups and individuals together during the formation of the Boone Community Network,” said Ben Loomis, Vice Chair of Boone Community Network.

“We are trying to put on events that give more to the community.”

389579907826896The Boone Community Network, a social network directed at the local community, is a hyper-local networking website that allows individuals, groups, organizations and local businesses of all types to create profiles to publicize themselves and their events. The network also holds community events like the Howard Street Exchange and other contests and fundraisers in order to build community presence and provide an outlet for local artists to shine.

“We are interested in introducing and bringing together groups and individuals who might not have met previously,” Loomis said.

“They are all interested in different things and might not focus on other things, like promotion. We are looking to make opportunities for these people to meet each other because we believe that is how more great businesses, groups and nonprofits will come about. We are working for a more connected, resilient and thriving High Country. We believe that a lot of change comes from putting passionate people in the same room and we want to promote the idea that there is a reason to stick around in the High Country. We want to develop connections to make more jobs and fun opportunities in this area.”

The Boone Community Network will host the showcase for any in the community who wish to display their skills for a good cause. The showcase is also a competition, with a $200 grand prize on the line for the winner.

The show currently has 15 acts, each of them a local resident.

“We have tons of talent,” Loomis said. “We have some solo singers, an ASU a cappella group, belly dancing, yoga, movement arts and fire spinning – outside of course. There will be a lot of different kinds of musicians and bands. We even have a few hip-hop artists and a few other acts of that genre.”

There are still a few slots for the show yet to be filled for readers who might be looking for a way to showcase their talent. For more information, email hannahshelby00@gmail.com

Acts will be judged on a modified voting system to determine the winner of the $200 grand prize.

“We have a $200 cash prize for the person who receives the most audience votes out of all of  the performances,” Loomis said. “We are putting up $100, and our sponsor Appalachia Cookie Company is donating $100. They will also be selling cookies at the event.

The audience will vote on the winner but it will be a modified vote. We are modifying a traditional audience vote to make it fair for all performers. Every hour, we will be doing a vote for that hour where if you are there, you get to vote. If you are there at 9 p.m., you get to vote three times. Then whoever gets the most votes wins.”

There will be a $5 cover charge for attendees, and proceeds from the event will be used to further the goals of Boone Community Network and to help support the organization’s next big festival.

“We are planning on using a portion to do updates to the website to make it more functional and interesting for our members and for new members,” Loomis said. “Then we will use another portion to fund our first big festival event, Village Vision, which will be held on May 2 and will be a community outreach festival where nonprofits and businesses will all come together. We are going to hold it at Horn in the West right after the first Watauga County Farmers Market.”

After the showcase, a dance party with music courtesy of Craven Sound Solutions will take place from 12-2 a.m.

“We want to thank The Local again, it has been such a great process working with them,” Loomis said. “They have just been so great to us so we want to thank them, and we also want to express our gratitude to Appalachia Cookie Co.”

For more information, click here, or visit the Boone Community Network here.