THE HERITAGE ARTS CENTER ASSOCIATION 23rd Annual Spotlight On Talent
By Gary S. Hatrick
Students compete for their Day in the Spotlight. The Heritage Arts Center Association’s 43rd Annual “Spotlight on Talent” Performing Arts Competition was held March 28 at the Pasco Hernando State College IPAC Theater. Fifty-eight separate acts, comprised of nearly 75 students from Pasco County and the surrounding areas, competed for trophies and cash prizes over the course of the day. The students ranged from 7 to 18 years old.
The competition was divided into two shows, one at noon for younger students and an evening competition at 7 p.m. for older students. Each performed before a panel of professional judges. The students in this competition had already qualified through a challenging preliminary competition held a month before, on Feb. 28, with 90 acts seeking an opportunity in the final show.
Two seniors were also awarded scholarships of $1,000 each. Makenna Henry, 18, of Cypress Creek High School, and Maelee Scaglione, 17, of Pasco High School were awarded the Annual Pasco Heritage Scholarship, determined by the student who receives the highest cumulative scores from both the Spotlight finals and the Spotlight preliminaries.
The HACA board is a working board that spends months organizing the Spotlight on Talent Competition. Barbara Friedman was the executive producer, assisted by Lauretta Brown, Michelle Twitmyer, and HACA President Laurel Weightman. Masters of Ceremonies were County Commissioner Seth Weightman in the afternoon show and former bank executive and local volunteer Larry Quinn in the evening show.
Thirty-five different corporate/community sponsors donated more than $6,000 cash prizes, trophies, and ribbons to support the effort. A generous grant renewal from Suncoast Credit Union allowed HACA to award two Pasco Heritage Scholarships this year. It will also allow them to award two $1,000 Nereim Fine Arts Award scholarships to two talented visual artists in May. Art is on display at the Hugh Embry Library in Dade City.
The Heritage Arts Center Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting and encouraging the performing and visual arts that enhance the cultural environment of our communities.♥
