Author: Mike Bailey
Kim Blickenstaff’s KDB Group is teaming up with the Heart of Illinois Fair to reward some of the top entertainment talents in central Illinois.
The inaugural Heart of Illinois’s Got Talent competition will be held at Exposition Gardens during the fair from July 13-16. Blickenstaff is underwriting the event, with cash prizes for first, second, and third places of $5,000, $2,500, and $1,000, respectively.
The event is seeking performers of every genre of talent, from music to comedy to magic to so novel it defies description. Visit www.heartofillinoistalent.com to apply. The deadline to do so is Wednesday, July 7.
Artists are asked to provide links to previous audio or video performances. Accepted applicants will be contacted directly and given a schedule and further details. A panel of judges will whittle the field down over the first three nights of competition, Tuesday through Thursday, July 13-15, with the best of the best performing that Friday evening. Roxy Baker of WWCT Radio in Peoria will act as emcee.
“I just really believe in the talent and creativity of central Illinois, which doesn’t take a backseat to anyplace,” said Blickenstaff. “I’ve made pretty clear my love for music and the arts. They’re the spark behind great accomplishment in many endeavors, and if I can provide those gifts a nudge and showcase them for all to see, that’s what I intend to do.”
Blickenstaff, a jazz drummer in his own right, has backed up those words with resources, from his development of the performing arts center in Peoria Heights that bears his mother’s name – the former Betty Jayne Brimmer – to his renovation of the Scottish Rite Theatre in Peoria, among other venues he has in the pipeline.
“We’re trying to encourage arts and entertainment and we have a great avenue for it” at the HOI Fair, which is returning after a year off due to the pandemic, said Erica Abenroth, the HOI Fair Board president. “We reached out to Kim and it kind of evolved into this talent show.
“We’re looking for as much diversity as we can possibly get.”
Even prior to COVID, the fair had struggled with declining attendance, which its leaders hope to reverse with a greater focus on all things local – local talent, local heroes of the last year, and local roots revolving around agriculture.
“We really want to engage that aspect,” said Abenroth, adding that the Expo Gardens showcase will have “more of a county fair feel” this year.
And who knows, Blickenstaff may even take a turn at the drums, as he’s been known to do at the Betty Jayne.
“There you go, there’s our headliner,” joked Abenroth.