Bill Riley Talent Show kicks off Fourth of July week

By Kelly Terpstra, kterpstra@charlescitypress.com

The Charles Theater stage was packed with plenty of talent on Sunday.

Sprouts and seniors alike were vying for a chance to perform at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines.

There was even an “old” veteran in attendance.

Charles City’s Harrison Sheckler, who finished in third place at last year’s Bill Riley Talent Search, emceed Sunday’s qualifying show. Sheckler won the sprout division at the fair in 2008.

Sheckler’s final year competing at the Bill Riley Talent Search was last summer. He will be a senior at the University of Cincinnati – College Conservatory of Music where he is majoring in piano performance. He talked about the Charles Theater, which he feels is a wonderful venue to hold the competition in that he so thoroughly enjoyed as a kid.

“We have a lot of people working hard and putting it together to make it run as smoothly as possible. I think the kids and the families see that and appreciate that. We’re going to continue to strive to do that every year,” said Sheckler.

One winner advances in each category — sprouts and seniors. Sprouts are ages 2-12 and seniors are ages 13-21. Contestants can still compete if they have already qualified at another location for the State Fair.

The top three finishers in the sprout division on Sunday had already qualified to compete in Des Moines, so 7-year old Kelsey Morud from Mason City, who finished fourth, was this year’s Charles City qualifier. She danced to “Tweedle Dee Dee.”

The winner of the sprout division was Brooklyn Miller, 10, from Gowrie. She danced to “Show Off.” Second place went to 11-year old Addyson Hall from Mason City. She performed a vocal titled “My New Philosophy.” Third place was awarded to the foursome of Margaret Lind, 12, Naomi Lind, 11, Maya Lind, 10, and Elaina Lind, 8. They’re all from Allison and they sang “Rather Be.”

The senior winner on this afternoon was Waterloo’s Megan Wheelock, age 14, who advanced to state on the merits of her vocal performance of “Blue Hair Song.” Second place in the senior division went to Bailey Miller, 17, from Gowrie, who danced to “Hurt.” The dance acrobat tandem of Decorah’s Jensen Korsness, 12, and Rorie Wiedow,13, placed third. They danced to “Diamonds.”

The local competition at Charles City pays out prize money. First place in the senior division won $100, while second got $50 and third brought home $25. The sprouts champion pocketed $50, second earned $25 and third place was given $10.

Judges for the event were Naomi Bienfang, Kristin Hall and Jen Burton. Sponsors for Sunday’s competition were Bienfang Music Instruction, Central Park Dentistry, The Charles City Press, Comet Bowl, Dairy Queen and Roffman Band Instrument Service.

Sheckler competed in the sprout and senior categories for 10 years and first competed in Greene as an 8-year old. That year he finished runner-up in the sprout division. The winner that year had already qualified for state, so he was awarded a berth to be able to hit the big stage in Polk County.

He gave some advice to anyone who has aspirations of competing and succeeding in the Bill Riley Talent Search.

“It’s really important to understand that this is an environment where you get to hone your skill and you have the chance to perform for a very welcoming crowd,” said Sheckler. “And realize that you are essentially competing against yourself. Any given day the results could be different. So you have to go in there, do all the hard work and practice. When it comes to show day, you just have fun and let the cards fall where they may.”

The Bill Riley Talent Search is scheduled for all 11 days of the State Fair, from Aug. 9-19. The semifinals are slated to take place from Aug. 16-18 and the championship show will commence on Sunday, Aug. 19. Iowa Public Television airs portions of the Talent Search throughout the running of the fair.