Share Your Talent During The First Annual Pocahontas County’s Got Talent Contest

Marlinton, WV – Pocahontas County’s got talent and teacher Shirlene Groceclose has plans to showcase it.

“It’s the first annual Pocahontas County’s Got Talent competition in conjunction this year with the Marlinton Women’s Club Evening with the Arts” says Groceclose. “They usually have their evening with the arts and have entertainment, and we’re providing the entertainment this year with the talent competition. I just came up with this idea as something we could do yearly for the community to express the talent, and also as a little fundraiser for my Costa Rica trip that I’m taking my kids [on] every other year.”

Groceclose teaches Spanish at Green Bank and Marlinton Middle Schools. The talent contest is just one of many fundraisers she and students do to fund their trips to Costa Rica. She explains a little more about the talent contest.

“It is a talent competition for ages 3rd grade through 12th grade and adults as well” she says. “And for a small registration fee they can schedule and audition; and the prizes are $200.00 First place, $100.00 Second place and $50.00 Third place. That Grand Finale will actually take place on May 6th at the [Pocahontas] Opera House at 7pm.”

As with the America’s Got Talent competition on which it is based, the Grand Finale competition will be a judged event. Groceclose says she’s not sure yet how many will make it to the final competition.

“It depends on how many people audition” she says. “I’m hoping to get a lot of people and then I’ll probably pick the best 20 or so to perform that night.”

The auditions are scheduled for early April. Groceclose points out that you can perform different acts for the audition and the final competition. She says she’ll have some help with winnowing down the final list of participants.

“I do – I’ll have a couple of other teachers also helping me with the auditions” she says, “and those will be on April 2nd at Marlinton Middle School at the Craft Fair from 9 to 3pm. The other one is April 6th after school at Green Bank from 4 to 7. But I can be flexible; so if there’s someone who can’t make it during those times, could you schedule for another time that could also happen. Then we’ll have a couple of other teachers helping me with the audition process.”

The deadline to register for the auditions is Monday, March 28th. Cost is $5.00 for those in the third through 12th grades, and $10.00 for adults. Groceclose says they are looking for non-professional performers only, but there are few restrictions on the type of performance.

“Anything, well, that can be performed” she says. “Singing, dancing, and that can be in groups, pairs, a band playing instruments as well; acting – it can be anything that can be performed. I know that there’s much more talent than just that, but just the ones that we can actually judge, sorta like they do at America’s Got Talent.”

For more information about the contest or to register, call Marlinton Middle School at 304-799-6773, Green Middle School at 304-456-4865 or you can contract Shirlene Groceclose at shireg51@yahoo.com. Please include ‘Talent Competition’ in the subject line and contact information in the body of the email.