February 17, 2004 > Young Artists Showcase

by Praveena Raman

The 17th Annual Young Artists Showcase sponsored by the Fremont Cultural Arts Council will be held at the Gary Soren Smith Center at Ohlone College on May 16th, 2004.

The Showcase, as it has in the past 17 years, will feature amateur performers and artists from the Fremont community. Participants are selected by the process of competitive auditions, which are judged by professional judges who are experts in a particular artistic area. The participants compete in two age categories; Junior Division includes performers through 14 years of age (as of May 16th) and the Senior Division includes ages 15 through 22 (as of May 16th). The finalists are invited to perform at the Showcase held at Ohlone college and are awarded scholarships of $50.

Visual art will be displayed on the same day as the showcase at Ohlone College and the winners will also be awarded $50 scholarships that evening. The showcase will be televised and the program aired in the Comcast cable channel for the whole month of June. The showcase at Ohlone College on May 16th, 2004 is open to the public. Tickets for the showcase are $5 adults, $3 for students (12 and under) and seniors.

Participation in the showcase is open to all community members irrespective of their ethnic culture. In the past few years many different ethnic cultural dances and music have been showcased e.g. Mexican, East Indian and Chinese. These artists have also gone through the same selection process. Youth of all ethnic backgrounds are encouraged to participate in the auditions.

Competitive auditions will be held in the performing arts areas of vocal music, instrumental music, dance and drama from March 15th through March 19th 2004. Entry forms and fees ($10 for solo; $15 for ensemble and $20 fro groups of 5 or more) for the auditions should be submitted by March 1st to the Fremont Cultural Arts Council, Young Artists Showcase, P.O. Box 1314, Fremont, CA-94538. Application forms can be obtained by calling 793-6060 or 657-0566 or 657-0130. Visual arts entries and photography entries should be submitted by May 1st 2004, at the Fremont Communities Activities Center, 3375 Country Drive, Fremont, CA - 94536.

Auditions for instrumental music will be held on March 15th at 6:00 p.m. and March 16th at 7:00 p.m. at the Irvington Presbyterian Church, Irvington Avenue at Chapel Way; for vocal music it will be held on March 18th from 7:00 p.m., also at the Irvington Presbyterian Church; for drama, the audition will take place on March 17th at 7:30 p.m. at the Fremont Community Activities Center, 3375 Country Drive and audition for dance will take place on March 19th at 7:00 p.m. at the Centerville Community Center, 3355 Country Drive, Fremont.

More information can be obtained by calling 793-6060 or 657-0566 or 657-0130.