Tori Korczak sings “Creep” by Melanie Martinez (originally by Radiohead) during a rehearsal on Saturday at the E.A. Rawlinson Centre. (Jeff D’Andrea/paNOW Staff)

By Jeff D’Andrea

The Search for the Stars to shine through livestream

Jan 23, 2021 | 5:06 PM

At around this time each year, crowds of over 200 people would flood to the E.A. Rawlinson Centre to watch the Canadian Tire Search for the Stars.

Although that isn’t happening, the show is still hoping to gather a large online audience on their livestream–2 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets range from $12.60 for a single ticket, to $100.80 for a group livestream.

The Search for the Stars features 16 acts, bands and solo artists who are competing for Star awards.

For production manager Dannyll Challis, it was very important to make sure the Search for the Stars could still continue in a safe manner.

“I think it’s huge. It’s probably the most important event of the year for me, personally. Arts and culture are the fabric. As we all went into lockdown with COVID, what happened? People started listening to music and watching Netflix, right? That’s arts and culture,” Challis said. “To be able to give the kids something to look forward to through all of this as so many things have been taken away for everybody’s safety, it’s just exciting.”

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Not only is the event something to look forward to for all the performers, but it also keeps them on their toes and practicing. With school music programs having been cut down compared to past years during COVID-19, Challis said events like Search for the Stars are even more important.

“A lot of the things they are involved with, like school choirs and things like that, are not happening in the same [way] that they were before, so it does give them something to look forward to and something to strive for,” Challis said.

Even before the pandemic, the event organizers decided to separate the competitors into groups and have them participate in different workshops throughout the theatre. That made the transition of holding the event during the pandemic a lot easier to ensure everybody was physically distant.

“We kind of lucked out with the way we scheduled it,” Challis said.

Throughout the weekend, musicians aged 12-18 went through workshops put on by the event’s three judges, Lindsay “Eekwol” Knight, Derek Melchert, and Paul Lomheim. Tickets and an event program can be found here.

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Jeff.dandrea@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW