Here is the chance for the Yukon to prove how much pop musical talent is up here. Yukon Idol is a competition that will find our best and shower them with prizes and put them in front of an audience in a Sourdough Rendezvous tent event.
It was a fund-raising idea that was nearly de-railed when the CTV-produced Canadian Idol considered heading north. But when its producers heard about Yukon Idol, they decided the local production was a better idea and offered support instead. Then it was learned CBC Television may televise the local event and legal wrangling ended up in a severing of any possible relationship.
“We were put on hold for a month,” says Duncan Lillico, a Yukon Idol proponent. “But then we had some catching up to do.”
Lillico is the only adult involved in organizing the event. Youth Making A Difference, a non-denominational religious-based public service youth group, has found the organizing end of this to be a useful exercise: “These youth are being exposed to something they’ve never been exposed to before,” he says. “They are thinking about how to get it done.”
Otherwise, it is a way to get their minds off of the cold and dark, he added.
The first audition was held Feb. 4 and 5. From this group, 50 were chosen to appear on the stage of the Yukon Art Centre on Tuesday, Feb. 15 and on the Thursday.
Four local judges – Mary Sloan, Keith Ellert, Jonathan Trefry and Andrea Simpson-Fowler – will bring this number down to 10 for the grand finale Feb. 18. They will be helped along by Yukoners voting over the Internet.
On the final evening, Matthew Lien will be a guest judge.
Y-MAD is a non-profit organization that usually raises money for food and clothing for families in need. But, for this event, it will send 25 percent to Tsunami Relief efforts.
