By Paul T. Choate
Also, check out our photo gallery from the second night of rehearsals on Wednesday, April 18.
April 17, 2012. On Friday, April 20, starting at 6:30 p.m., the Watauga Education Foundation will hold the 12th annual Shooting Stars talent show in Farthing Auditorium at Appalachian State University. Tickets for the event are $10 and donations are accepted.
Shooting Stars is a fundraiser for the foundation that will allow it to fund classroom grants in the amount of $20,000. It also funds teacher scholarships so they can further their education or be able to attend workshops and classes.
“It is our premiere event. It is a program that we love for so many reasons,” said Alison Idol, president of the Watauga Education Foundation. “I think the number one reason that it’s so important for us is because we try to have representatives from each community on our board of directors. We try to represent each community as best we can.”
Rehearsals begin this evening at 5:30 p.m. and will continue at that time through Thursday at Farthing Auditorium. Rehearsals are closed to the public.
The show will include visual art and performing arts including dance, vocals, instrumentals, comedy and much more. According to Tricia Hall, producer of Shooting Stars, there will also be two “opening acts” this year. Students of Appalachian Rhythm Clogging and Dance and Studio K Dance Workshop will join together to open Act 1. The dance was choreographed and directed by Ashley Cook and Elise Sigmon of Appalachian Rhythm and Catharine Milner of Studio K. The Presbyterian-Methodist Children’s Choir, directed by Dottie Sykes, will open Act 2 (see below for lineups of opening acts one and two).
Each year hundreds of students from all nine Watauga County schools audition for a chance. Hall said this year 76 acts auditioned for their chance to be in the spotlight and 27 acts were selected for the show. There were also 48 visual artists selected for the show (see below for lineups of all the acts and the list of visual artists). All performing and visual artists were selected by a panel of judges.
“This is the only event that we know of that brings students, their families, their teachers and their community of supporters and sponsors all together under one big roof to celebrate the arts and these talented, wonderful kids,” said Idol.
According to Idol, approximately 800 people are expected to be in attendance for the show.
John Carter, a news anchor on WBTV in Charlotte and ASU alumnus, will return as emcee this year.
This year’s installment of Shooting Stars is sponsored by Wells Fargo.
Since 1989, the Watauga Education Foundation has raised and distributed more than $1 million, mostly through cross-circular grants.
Funds raised also contribute to having Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library’s presence in the High Country.
For more information, call 828-268-1273 or visit wataugaeducationfoundation.org.
To purchase tickets, call the Farthing Auditorium Box Office at 828-262-4046.
Lineup for Appalachian Rhythm
(Schools represented: Blowing Rock, Cove Creek, Green Valley, Hardin Park and Parkway)
| Addie | Hall |
| Leah | Himmelman |
| Kaitlin | Cook |
| Darcy | Carson |
| Kylah | Jackson |
| Rebekah | Cook |
| Chynna | Birkmire |
| Addison | Birkmire |
| Amanda | Salmi |
| Katie | Hanna |
| Joanne | Hughes |
| Grace | Horine |
| Laura | Tomblin |
| Faith Ann | Henson |
| Jessie | King |
| Faith | Trivette |
| Corinne | Giles |
| Mecca | Sackrider |
| Madisyn | Spink |
Lineup for Studio K
(Schools represented: Blowing Rock, Cove Creek, Green Valley, Hardin Park, Parkway and Valle Crucis)
| Emma | Harkins |
| Emma | Carder |
| Olivia | Handley |
| Carolina | Conway |
| Sara Fran | Greene |
| Allison | Quinn |
| Cami | Hastings |
| Savannah | Spencer |
| Riley | Fowler |
| Emma | Pinnix |
| Emma Kate | Sevensky |
| Hattie Rose | Greene |
| Caitlin | Sanders |
| Haylee | Barker |
| Kaycee | Wilson |
| Peyton | Walton |
| Kati Mac | Greene |
| Alison | Cook |
Shooting Stars 2012 performing artists
| America the Beautiful | Jaidyn | Toomey |
| Two Sisters | Alina | Kosmala |
| Doria | Kosmala | |
| Max the Magician | Max | Midgett |
| Fanny Pack | Isabella | Cutillo |
| Olivia | Michael | |
| Elaine | Mansure | |
| Kylie | Dolbier | |
| Lily | Cavanaugh | |
| Mary Margaret | Zrul | |
| Antonia | Scherlen | |
| A Friend’s Lighthouse | Sarah | McGuire |
| Party Rock Anthem | Faith Ann | Henson |
| A Fiddle Tune | Ilias | Figlow |
| This Little Light of Mine | Savannah | Spencer |
| Riley | Fowler | |
| Emma | Pinnix | |
| Marisa | Romanat | |
| Emma Kate | Sevensky | |
| Hattie Rose | Greene | |
| Caitlin | Sanders | |
| Haylee | Barker | |
| Kaycee | Wilson | |
| Peyton | Walton | |
| Kati Mac | Greene | |
| Alison | Cook | |
| Soul Shine | Renee | Taylor |
| Jake | Helms | |
| Joy of Drums | Demi | Wang |
| Belinda | Wang | |
| Butterfly Fly Away | Kati Mac | Greene |
| Paquita | Isabella | Cutillo |
| Abbott and Costello | Max | Schlenker |
| Cole | Funk | |
| Celtic Twilight | Mallory | Coston |
| Emily | Berry | |
| Addi | Berry | |
| Lily | Lipford | |
| ACT 2 | ||
| Shake it Up | Abigail | Marlett |
| Gretchen | Turbyfill | |
| Cassidy | Johnson | |
| Chelsi | Hodges | |
| Allison | Turbyfill | |
| Hailey | Lawson | |
| Hannah | Saunders | |
| Macie | Keller | |
| Marley | Forrester | |
| Delia | Forrester | |
| Victoria | Orpen | |
| Abigail | Utter | |
| Vienna for a Friend | Erin | Sena |
| Gabriel’s Oboe | Kasey | Stokes |
| The Upside | Vanessa | Sautley |
| MacKenzie | Bradley | |
| The Great Charlie | Charlie | Hartman |
| Aurihana | Toms | |
| Sehren | Toms | |
| Poor Wayfaring Stranger | Samantha | Reese |
| The Little Soloist | Henryk | Kosmala |
| Wishing you were Somehow Here | Lucy | Edy |
| Yo-Yoing | Aiden | Bound |
| God’s Girls | Bailey | Cook |
| Allison | Cook | |
| Bailey | Keller | |
| Abby | Keller | |
| Lydia | Rothrock | |
| Elyse | Burgess | |
| Angela | Henderson | |
| Sarah Grace | Shellman | |
| Anna | Shellman | |
| Lauren | Hunsinger | |
| Hattie Rose | Greene | |
| All Your Life | Eliza | Eason |
| Rockin’ in the Free World | Ruby | Pond |
| Ryder | Pond |
Shooting Stars 2012 visual artists
| ACT 1 | ||
| Segment 1 | ||
| STUDENT | ART WORK | SCH / GRD |
| Anders Coffey | “Anders Obsession” | VC / 2 |
| Jesus Morales | “Shooting Stars Graffitti” | WHS / 12 |
| Hunter Harmon | “Hunter’s Barn” | VC / 3 |
| Grace Oh | “Stitched Landscape” | CC / 4 |
| Michael Walker | “The Amphitheater” | BR / 4 |
| Alicia Wood | “Alicia’s Face” | GV / 8 |
| Garrison Lawrence | “Fairy Land” | HP / 2 |
| Ashley Medina | “Sunshine” | PW / 1 |
| Sarah Medina | “The Creation” | PW / 4 |
| Zachary Oakes | “Isometric Wonderland” | WHS / 11 |
| James Furman | “The Red” | PW / 7 |
| Lydia Rothrock | “Bumble Bee” | HP / 2 |
| ACT 1 | ||
| Segment 2 | ||
| STUDENT | ART WORK | SCH / GRD |
| Yoo-Jin Oh | “Dreaming Tree” | CC / 7 |
| Elsie Saltman | “Beautiful Butterfly” | Mabel / 2 |
| Brandon Holshouser | “Dinner Time” | PW / 6 |
| Noah Padgett | “Homeland” | WHS / 10 |
| Sarah Snyder | “Van Gogh’s Swirls” | Bethel / 4 |
| Sara Toub | “The Pond” | HP / 4 |
| Taylor Nelsen | “Anders” | WHS / 12 |
| Timothy Rushin | “The Rushin Castle” | VC / 4 |
| Brandon Mast | “Lurking” | WHS / 12 |
| Rebecca Vamvaketis | “Happy Clown” | WHS / 12 |
| Josie Gagnon | “Dinosaurs Near and Far” | VC / 3 |
| Samantha Reese | “The Fish” | Bethel / 5 |
| ACT 2 | ||
| Segment 3 | ||
| STUDENT | ART WORK | SCH / GRD |
| Kiera Symmes | “City” | PW / 6 |
| Madison Miller | “Leaves of the Flower” | GV / 5 |
| Andie Waugh | “A German (Sheppard) In Ireland” | HP / 4 |
| Kauner Michael | “Stop This Train” | WHS / 9 |
| Bailey Younce | “Stripe-A-Saurus” | Bethel / 2 |
| Sara Bartlett | “Eternal Happiness” | WHS / 12 |
| William Nelsen | “William’s Dream” | VC / 6 |
| Joe Bingham | “Patches the Whale” | CC / 2 |
| Wyatt Landholm | “Monstrous Sketch” | Mabel / 6 |
| Olivia Phillips | “Prey Of The Night” | Bethel / 8 |
| Kelsey Hayes | “Curls” | CC / 8 |
| Peyton Walton | “I Love Ice Cream!” | GV / 2 |
| ACT 2 | ||
| Segment 4 | ||
| STUDENT | ART WORK | SCH / GRD |
| Kaitelyn Carson | “The Clarinet Player” | WHS / 12 |
| Heather Ostwalt | “Golden Goal” | BR / 8 |
| Amanda Salmi | “No One Is Perfect” | GV / 8 |
| Adam Kallestad | “Octopus In The Bowl” | PW / 4 |
| Hallie Lovin | “Love” | HP / 5 |
| Caitlin Barrier | “Sean Connery” | WHS / 9 |
| Ashlee McCann | “Two Feet In The Air” | WHS / 9 |
| Caitlyn Vines | “Randomness” | CC / 7 |
| Chasity Isaacs | “Ant’s Eye View” | Mabel / 4 |
| Lindy Norris | “Gojo” | Bethel / 8 |
| Olivia Michael | “Poe” | HP / 6 |
| Delia Rhodes | “Faraway Land” | CC / 4 |
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