The Cochrane Rotary Youth Talent Festival continues to showcase how talented our town's young people are.

Cyndie Baum, Festival Chair, says no matter how high the bar has been set in past years, she is always amazed and in awe watching the many performers that take the stage during Festival and the Finale (February 3,4, 5 and the 8th). "We always wonder each year how you can 'up' the year before, but it seems to be every year we leave thinking that was the best ever. We have no shortage of talent coming up in Festival eyes."

This year there was over 250 vocal, instrumental, and dance performances in front of adjudicators with a fairly even disbursement amongst the three categories. The Finale performance which features the top thirty performance went off without a hitch, and Baum says the future looks incredibly bright. "Every year we are blown away by the talent, and I don't see that we need to change. We will keep providing very cool thing things, and, of course, our scholarships are one of a kind, and I don't think there is a Festival in Canada that gives that kind of scholarship."

The Gordon and Illa Rumpel Scholarship gifts the opportunity for performers to chase their dream and grow their talent while helping to offset the financial component. "We were excited with the scholarship money this year to have one family be able to buy a piano, we have two families that will buy guitars, and a family that will buy an  alpha sax, and two performers where one will attend a summer-long  intensive camp and the other will be going to a very elite convention. It's an opportunity that not many people get and this year will mark $70,000 that we have put back into the community through instruments, fine arts camps, and scholarships towards further education."

Scholarship recipients are vetted through a few different channels and based on a variety of criteria. "We run them all be a volunteer board first, and they eliminate the ones that don't fit the qualifications, ie) for lessons. We believe that if a child is really passionate that parents will find a way to give them lessons, but we can give them alternate opportunities. So we can give them those extras that maybe they wouldn't be able to have normally. When Gordon Rumpel set up the scholarship he really had two criteria, and that was the need and will they be using it to carry on and further their talent. So the potential isn't necessarily how good are they going to be, but do they have the potential to use it."

Thanks to the generosity of various businesses, the Cochrane Rotary Youth Talent Festival can gift the winners an exorbitant amount of cash which they are able to use in their way to further their skill set. "The bottom line is we want to foster such a love for the arts, music, and dance, and give kids the opportunity to perform. When I think of young people that may not have the opportunity to perform, to stand up in front of people, and may not be perfect but not be criticized for it...this is where. This is where kids at any level can get up there and give it a try."

There are no restrictions as to who can enter to perform in the Festival, states Baum, and well over 40 volunteers stepped up to help make the week run smoothly. 

This year marked the 30th anniversary for the Cochrane Youth Talent Festival and between the encouragement from parents, music/dance teachers, and the school's, Baum says the festival has become a community affair, which is awesome.

The five awards of distinction went to Eupemeron (band), Cade Legg, Peter Skrypnek, Summer Hill, and Saegeas & Sarai Miller, with the Rotary Award of Excellence going to Jenna McMurchy.

READ MORE: 

Celebrating 30 Years of Performing Arts Talent