Kettle corn, beer and cotton candy were part of anything but an ordinary day as 11 contestants took the stage June 14 to compete for the sixth annual Parker Idol at Parker's 32nd Country Festival.
The Parker Chamber of Commerce's Chairman of the Board JJ Dedmon thought up the idea of Parker Idol with a friend six years ago. Contestants compete in preliminary rounds for a month before the Parker Idol Karaoke Finals at the festival. According to Dedmon, there are 11 preliminary locations and the winner from each gets to compete in the finals.
The finalists: Devan Jones, Aimee Ankenbauer, Tammy Jones, Heather Jepson, Lucas Parry, Sam Peart, Pamela Graham, Marta Leal-Reigel, Rachel Placide, Valerie Johnson and Teresa Shepherd sang songs by artists ranging from Kings of Leon to Carrie Underwood.
A panel of judges, including Mudflap Mcgrew from the KYGO morning show, Boyd Brookhart, owner of Ultra Harmony Music Entertainment, and Bridget Hendricks, the first Parker Idol from 2004, judged the contestants on four categories: vocal ability, audience participation, stage presence and overall star quality.
Hendricks, five year judge, said, "Every year, it seems to get better and better."
Although she said the audience turnout is usually the same, the talent seems to be more impressive each year. Hendricks said people from around the festival hang out and watch, but there are always friends and family of the contestants in the crowd.
"There are ten to 15 people here to watch me," said contestant Shepherd.
Shepherd, 32, said she has been singing karaoke for 16 years and when the DJ at Buffalo Boyds told her about the contest she leapt at the opportunity. She said she came out to the festival after work the day before the show to see what was going on and to check out the area.
This wasn't the first time Shepherd has competed in this competition, according to her; she was in the show "four of five years ago" but did not make the finals. Equipped with a new song and place in the finals, she said she was ready.
"I practiced by singing to my dog," said Shepherd laughing. "He was singing back to me."
Contestant Peart, 29, said jokingly he prepared by spending 10 minutes on his hair. He said he was also preparing by trying to stay "mellow" and calm, but he was there for the fun rather than to win. With a few years of karaoke experience behind him, Peart said this show was special.
"I do a lot of contests," said Peart, "but I'm excited about this one because it's a big stage."
The contenders picked numbers out of a hat to decide the order of appearance. After they all competed they each came on a stage holding up a sign of their numbers. The audience was given a phone number by Dedmon to text their votes to.
"This is the second year we have had the texting," said Hendricks.
When the votes had been tabulated the second runner up and winner of a limo ride was Peart who sang
Me and Mrs. Jones by Johnny Mathis. The first runner up and winner of a $500 gift voucher was Ankenbauer who sang
Flat on the Floor by Carrie Underwood. The grand prize winner of $1000 was Devan Jones who sang
Bless the Broken Road by Rascal Flatts.
"I would love to say drinks on me," said Jones upon receiving his prize, "but I have bills to pay."
One thing Jones said he wanted to learn to do while at the show was get over his fears and not be such a dork on the stage.
The winners received scores of 32.8, 33.0 and 34.5 respectively out of a possible 40.
Cody Hall, of Parker, is an intern with YourHub.com. She is a journalism major at Southern Connecticut State University.