Children take centre stage at the talent show in New Haven – The Voice

Haven Place will host the Kids Got Talent Contest as part of its annual Family Day event in August. Pictured is Madeline Buchanan, who took first place in last year’s competition. (Courtesy of Tina Nagy)

Potential future “America’s Got Talent” contestants can hone their skills on a local stage this summer when Haven Place hosts a “Kids Got Talent” competition.

The Kids Got Talent Contest is part of Haven Place’s Family Day event, which will be held in New Haven on August 10th from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The free event includes carnival games, a 5K run, a Sud Zone and more. The talent contest will be held at 11 a.m. and will offer cash prizes for first, second and third place.

Tina Nagy, CEO of Haven Place, said this year marks the eighth year the Kids Got Talent competition has been part of Family Day. The competition was introduced to encourage youth participation in Family Day, she said. To that end, the competition will be promoted in schools and through social media in May.

Youth ages 4 to 17 can apply for the Kids Got Talent contest by emailing [email protected] or calling 586-484-8540 through July 22. It is free to enter, and applications can be found online at havenplaceinc.weebly.com/haven-place-family-day-event.html. In the application, students must detail the talent they plan to showcase.

Nagy said 12 acts would be selected to perform.

“There are different categories: singing, instrumental, dance, group or individual. You can do acting or theater. And then there are crazy talents, anything like magic or juggling,” said Nagy.

The basic rules of the competition include:

• Performances requiring ceiling heights greater than 12 feet are not permitted.

• All performances are limited to five minutes. Anyone who exceeds this time will be penalized. Nagy said the time limit per performance gives the judges time to fill out criteria sheets and vote.

• All performances must include at least one participant who resides in Macomb County.

• Contestants may only perform once during the show.

• Performances must be clean and family friendly.

• Pre-recorded singing is not permitted.

• A sound engineer and microphones will be provided for the performances, but performers must bring their own recorded music, instruments, props, etc. Recorded music must be on a CD or USB stick.

• All music, pre-recordings and special props must be delivered to event coordinators by July 22 at Haven Place, 58575 Main St. in New Haven.

• On Aug. 10, contestants must report to Haven Place Park by 10:40 a.m. Nagy said the talent competition will be held at Haven Place Park in New Haven, 58586 Main St., across from Haven Place.

Contestants will be judged by a three-person panel of volunteer judges based on overall performance, technical ability, stage performance/personality, and creativity/originality and entertainment value. Nagy said there will be no audience vote. Judges are Diane Simpson, Sara Gilley and Dusty Ballard.

Nicole Tuttle is a freelance reporter for The Voice.

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