What’s New Aug 2007
KaraokeFest 2007 is looming like a huge cloud of excitement over Southern California. This year’s “Fest” will again take place, by popular demand, at the L.A. County Fair in Pomona on Saturday, September 15 th…that’s right, Saturday. This will be the first time we have scheduled “Fest” on a Saturday. Just think of it, no having to get up the next morning to go to work. It sounds great to me!
New this year, the VocoPro Fabulous Fest Photo Contest! Take your best shot at KaraokeFest this year and send it to us before midnight on September 22 nd to be eligible to win the new Sonic Station compliments of VocoPro. This is a great prize retailing for $500. The judges are actually looking for the best photo taken at KaraokeFest this year. That means it should show one or more of the events and activities going on at the “Fest” that day in an artistic, funny, creative or explanatory way. There are no specific guidelines other than wanting the photo that best exemplifies the event. You may send as many entries as you like but only a maximum of 3 per email. Send your entries to photos@KaraokeScene.com before midnight on September 22 nd. This should be a lot of fun so “take your best shot” and send it in.
The Crème de la Crème Singing Competition continues to rock across Southern California and the talent level is fantastic. We are seeing more and more variation of singing styles and music genres this time and it is good to see so many new faces out there competing. It looks like it’s going to be a fabulous show at KaraokeFest when the 50 finalists (25 male and 25 female) will compete for thousands in cash and prizes and the coveted title of Male & Female Karaoke Singers of the Year (not to mention being Pop Hits Monthly’s “Singer of the Month” where they will be a featured “demo” artist on a future Pop Hits Monthly release. They will also be able to record an original song for the disc (if they don’t have one Pop Hits Monthly will provide one for them). This is a golden opportunity for national exposure and we are proud to be able to provide this prize to our male and female first place winners. We are so pleased to have wildly popular L.A. radio and television personality, Shawn Parr, back as the host of the Crème de la Crème Finals Competition this year. Shawn always does a remarkable job hosting this event and he informs us that he has some new tricks up his many sleeves this year. Can’t wait to see what he’s got in store for us.
This year we have added 2 new contests to the KaraokeFest menu, the Crème de la Kids and Crème de la King Singing Competitions. The Crème de la Kids is the result of your input over the years, asking if we could host a children’s contest of some kind. We brainstormed the concept and came up with a brand new event for this year. Tony DeFazio of Starlight Entertainment is the contest coordinator and has done a fine job so far looking after the youngsters and providing them with the opportunity to show off their talents, and believe me, there are some sensationally talented children who have qualified and will be competing at KaraokeFest. The show time for the Crème de la Kids Finals Competition at KaraokeFest will be 12 noon.
The Crème de la King is the result of the vision of one of our event planners. We are huge Elvis fans here so when the idea was presented it was received with almost unanimous approval. We all thought it would be a perfect addition to our show and an appropriate way to commemorate the 30 th anniversary of Elvis’ passing. Dennis Skiles of D & D Productions has done an excellent job of putting it all together for this unique and exciting event. This contest will begin on August 16 th and continue through August 26 th. For more details please check out page 16 of this issue. The show time for the Crème de la King Finals Competition at KaraokeFest will be 3pm.
The Golden Achievement Award nominees are listed on page 17 of this issue. These are individuals and venues that have been voted best in their respective categories by the Southern California Karaoke community at large. The winners will be announced and awards presented at KaraokeFest. However, these nominees are already all winners just by having been selected from the many hundreds of venues and individuals in Southern California Karaoke. The “Best” and “Most Supportive” Awards will be presented at 5pm. The KJ and Venue of the Year Awards will be presented at 8pm. These awards are the “Oscars” of Karaoke and the best way for the Karaoke community to express their appreciation so please be on hand to show your support for these talented people and special venues.
The second annual “KaraokeFest Online Singing Competition” will be hosted by KaraokeScene.com and Bix.com. Like last year, this will be separate from our other singing competitions that are currently underway., just go to www.Bix.com, click on the “KaraokeFest Online Singing Competition” link and follow the instructions. There will be both a video and audio only competition. It should be a blast and we will be looking forward to enjoying the performances of all of the talented folks posting entries from all over the world. Entering is simple; you can access the contest by going to www.Bix.com or at our website www.KaraokeScene.com, just click on the “KaraokeFest Online Singing Competition” link.
And don’t forget, in addition to the main show, there will be 6 Karaoke stages located throughout the Fairgrounds where everybody can sing all day long. Last year a bunch of folks made it a point to sing at each and every stage at least once. Sounds like a lot of fun!
Then there’s the Karaoke Expo featuring music industry related vendors who will be there to exhibit and/or sell their latest products. Visiting the Expo is always a great experience. The Expo will be located in very close proximity to the main stage where our show will be taking place. Be sure to make it a point to visit the Karaoke Expo. You’ll be glad you did.
All you need to enjoy all of the special events and activities of KaraokeFest 2007 is a ticket to the L.A. County Fair which can be purchased at many retail store locations throughout Southern California. You can also go to www.LACountyFair.com and purchase your tickets there.
The Karaoke Scene staff looks forward to seeing all of you at KaraokeFest this year on Saturday, September 15 th. Gates open at 10am and the “Fair” is open till midnight. See you there!
