'When entertainment becomes a contest': 3rd annual local vocal competition
Community members gather in Island Park for the grand opening of the Island Park Arts Pavilion in this Aug. 5, 2019, file photo. The pavilion will be the site of the third annual 'Battle of the Local Vocals.'
Grab your lawn chairs and pitch pipes, music lovers: A favorite musical contest is coming back to Island Park.
Twelve contestants from Isabella County were selected in June to compete in the “Battle of Local Vocals.”
“The city of Mount Pleasant and the Morey Foundation have partnered together to host a vocal talent competition for Isabella County residents,” according to a release from the city of Mount Pleasant. “This year will be the third year for the contest.”
This event is open to the public. It is slated to take place at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 16 at Island Park Arts Pavilion. Some seating is provided, but lawn chairs are welcomed.
“Our whole purpose with doing this is just to provide some free and fun entertainment for the community,” Erik Spindler said. Spindler is the executive administrator for the Morey Foundation, which provided the prize money for winners.
According to the release, there are prizes for the top three winners: $5,000 for first place, $2,000 for second place and $1,000 for third.
“Mr. Morey has always had a love for the fine arts, so that’s a main motivation,” Spindler said.
The event is planned to last about 90 minutes -- long enough for the performers to sing songs of all shapes and sizes, and be judged on score sheets.
“Every one of them has some musical background,” Spindler said, referring to the judges. “They’re volunteering their time.”
“Battle for Local Vocals” made its debut in 2021 as a pandemic response.
“The whole reason this came to be was when we were coming out of COVID,” Spindler said. “People were cooped up, and we thought ‘hey, let’s give people something to do.’”
