The Kane County Fair 2014 Talent Contest first place winners Sophia Peterson of Elgin (Junior Division) and Erin Newman of St. Charles (Senior Division) will represent Kane County and compete on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2015 at the Illinois Association of Agricultural Fairs Official Talent Contest State Competition in Springfield, IL.

To win the top honors at the Kane County Fair in July 2014, Peterson sang an opera solo  of Ave Maria and Newman sang a vocal solo of Maybe This Time.

To compete in Springfield, they must both perform the exact same performance as in the Kane County Fair competition.

Last year, Daniel Souvigny of Hampshire won First Place in the Junior Competition at the Illinois Association of Agricultural Fair talent contest. He was the first place winner of the Junior Division of the 2013 Kane County Fair Talent Contest. He performed a lively piano solo of Nagasaki.

“We have had an outstanding record of winning the competitions in Springfield,” said Larry Rossi, RPM Creative Music, coordinator of the Kane County Fair Talent Contest for the past 32 years. “Our talent across Kane County is exceptional in all categories of musical and dance performance.”

The Illinois Association of Agricultural Fairs Official Talent Contest State Competition in Springfield, IL, began its tradition in the 1970s in conjunction with the Illinois State Agricultural Fairs annual convention.

“Locally, the Kane County Fair Talent Contest is open to a wide variety of talent and entertainment,” said Rossi. “In 2014, we had over 35 acts perform in our auditions and 19 finalists who competed for prizes. The judges were highly impressed with the quality of talent in our community. We encourage our young people to sign up and compete in this year’s contest.  It provides them with a great opportunity to perform before an audience.”

The contest is open to any person or group (school/organization) residing in Kane County. More details about the 2015 Kane County Fair Talent Contest competitions will be available soon on www.kanecountyfair.com.

The first round is usually held in June and the Talent Contest will be held on Monday, July 13, 2015. The Kane County Fair will be held on July 15-19, 2015.

For more information and how to enter future contests please contact Larry Rossi at (847) 622-9935 or email: KaneCoTalent@aol.com.