The Beat Out Cancer club put on a statewide talent show this past weekend and met giant financial success, all of which goes to cancer research.
The talent show, Georgia Has Talent, featured performing artists from cities as close as Waleska and as far as Nashville. Additionally, the special guest performers featured local celebrities, such as Kelsey Hollis (Miss Georgia 2022) and Sasha Hurtado (a contender from The Voice).
Overall, the night produced a great turnout and excellent participation in the multiple fundraisers. Besides the cost of tickets, money was generated from a silent auction and raffles for items donated by the club’s many generous sponsors.
By the end of the night, the club raised over $20,000, all of which goes in a large check to the Dana-Farber Foundation in Boston, one of the nation’s leading experts in cancer research.
Above: Kelsey Hollis, Miss Georgia 2022, performing on the Falany stage.
Three awards were given at the end of the night: the Judges’ Choice for Talent, the People’s Choice for Fundraising, and the Pablo Hurtado Award for Music Production.
Paige Nelson, a 17-year-old singer and songwriter took home the Judges’ Choice Award as well as the $500 in prize money. Katelynn Palloto, another teenage singer, raised the most money by her fans and received the People’s Choice Award. And Olympia Papageorgiou, an international singer, won the Pablo Hurtado Award for her song “No Titles”, now on Spotify.
Above: First slide, CHS sophomore Felisa Vazquez performed an impressive clogging solo. Second slide, Wiley Sims, CHS senior, performs with the Band Waleska. Third slide, the Stayin’ Alive crew wowed the crowd as a special guest as an all-female dancer group, all over the age of 50. Several of the group are also cancer survivors. Fourth slide, Liliana Tani, a fourteen-year-old singer dazzled the crowd with her voice.
Volunteers from the Beat Out Cancer club arrived as early as eight a.m. to help set up tables and stage equipment, and left long after the show around eleven thirty p.m.
It was a very long, exhausting shift, but the joy we brought to the audience and performers was worth it!
Remy Charleston, show production manager and CHS junior
The charity show was an incredible success and hopes to draw an even bigger crowd next year.
THE WARRIOR WORD 