The Grand is proud to announce: The 2009-10 ‘IN the spotlight’ Season

With the inaugural season behind them, The Grand has announced the “new and improved” 2009/10 IN THE SPOTLIGHT season. The regional talent competition, back for its second year at The Grand, has been broken down into six brand new preliminary areas: dance, comedy, spoken word, band and instrumental music and two dates for singers. Three to five acts will be chosen in each separate category and the winners will move on to the finale on April 25, 2010 to compete for cash and prizes. In an effort to focus on local talent, IN THE SPOTLIGHT administrators have also put in place a 50-mile radius rule so the competition will garner a local winner.

Registration for the entire competition opened on July 15 and there is a $10 application fee. The first 20 applications in each specific area will be accepted. IN THE SPOTLIGHT is open to all ages and all talents.

The IN THE SPOTLIGHT competition kicks off on September 20, 2009 with the dance category. Any style dance, any age range and any group size is welcome. October 25, 2009 will be the first of two singing categories with the second being held February 28, 2010. The very popular singing category will include all styles and group sizes and will include singer/songwriters, but not bands. The comedy category, one of the biggest turn-outs of the 2008/09 season, will take place on November 15, 2009 and the spoken word category on January 24, 2010. Rounding out the competition is the band and instrumental music category on March 21, 2010. All preliminary events take place on the baby grand stage with the finale taking place on April 25, 2010 in The Grand Opera House itself, a unique opportunity for most local performers.

In 2009, after eleven months searching for the best local talent, The Grand whittled down 100 acts to 20 finalists in the 2008/09 IN THE SPOTLIGHT competition. On April 5, 2009 those 20 talented acts took to the legendary opera house stage, a stage which has been host to performers such as The London Philharmonic, Wilco, Bonnie Raitt, Harry Connick, Jr. and Bill Cosby, to battle in one last performance to find the Grand Prize winner. M Dickson, a comedian based in New York was crowned the winner and received cash and prizes worth over $2,500 and bragging rights of being named the first ever: IN THE SPOTLIGHT Grand Prize Winner. Who will the 2010 winner be?

This season welcomes two collaborating community partners: City of Wilmington IN Campaign and Out and About Magazine. Aztec Printing continues as an event sponsor as well.

For more information about upcoming competitions and to download an application, visit @linkhref='http://www.TheGrandWilmington.org'target="-blank">www.TheGrandWilmington.org/link