‘Unbelievable talent’ takes to the stage at Grandstand Jam

Emo’s version of “American Idol,” the Grandstand Jam, was staged Friday night before a packed house at the Emo-La Vallee Community Centre.
Held during the Emo Fair its first year, and then on Canada Day last year, the Grandstand Jam was held in conjunction with the Emo Walleye Classic this time around—and drew the biggest crowd in its young history.
“This year, just from emceeing and looking at the crowd, it looked like there were a lot of people. I was really impressed,” said Candy Greengrass, who founded the event.
“The talent—they put on a great show for everyone to see,” she added.
The idea sprang from the “Quest for the Best” competition that’s now held each July during the Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship. But unlike “Quest,” the Grandstand Jam is geared more towards children with two divisions—one for ages eight-13 and another for ages 14-19.
“Knowing that there is so much talent in this district, [I thought] it would possibly work, and it did,” said Greengrass. “And this was our best year. We had the most contestants (17) and it was a lot of fun.”
And plenty of talent there was. One after another, the contestants stepped up on the stage to perform their song of choice back by a live band.
The three judges—Jen O’Reilly (B93 FM), Cindy Judson (Thread Shed), and Jerry Donaldson (Tompkins Hardware)—had a very tough time making up their minds.
Fortunately, the process was a democratic one—each judge was given a score sheet to fill out based on certain criteria, such as vocals, stage presence, audience interaction, and the “it” factor.
They scored each contestant accordingly and at the end of the show, the totals were tallied up.
“I have to say I was very surprised. The talent was unbelievable,” said O’Reilly. “It was very difficult.”
First place in the eight-13 category went to Lauren Gurski, 13, for her soulful and energetic rendition of “I Feel the Earth Move.”
Second place went to Erika Tymkin, 10, for her sweet performance of “On a Night Like This” while last year’s winner, Katelyn Shortreed, 10, took third place for her fun version of “Drama Queen.”
In the 14-19 category, first place went to Brittany Hayes, 15, for the crowd-pleasing “Old Time Rock and Roll.”
In second place was Shantelle Davidson, 16, for her upbeat rendition of “Take Me Away” while third place went to Christine Badiuk, 18, for her flawless performance of “I Want You to Want Me.”
Greengrass noted that of the 17 contestants, only one was male, but she is hoping next year’s Grandstand Jam will draw more.
“We had one guy and he was really good,” she said. “He was in great spirits and didn’t mind at all that he was the only guy.”
All of the contestants received a nine-inch television and radio, donated by Teeple Electric.
The first-place winners from each category will perform two songs each on the 2004 Grandstand Jam CD, while the second- and third-place winners will perform one song each.
The CD will be available for Christmas.