Nevada area's got talent

If you think America's got talent, then so does Nevada and surrounding towns! The Community Council on the Performing Arts presents their first ever Youth Showcase for young performers on March 3, 4 and 5, at 7 p.m.; and concludes Sunday, March 6, at 2 p.m. Individuals and groups from ages 5 to 19 will perform a variety of acts, including vocal solos and duets, a middle school percussion group, the high school drumline, the middle and high school jazz bands, a storytelling, a Bluegrass ensemble, guitar, fiddle and flute solos and a combo band. Each show during the four-day run will be unique with different acts.

Thursday night, March 3, will include group performances by the Nevada Middle School Jazz band, the Nevada High School Jazz band, and the Blue Mound Sound, a Bluegrass ensemble from El Dorado Springs. Thursday night is the only performance by the two Nevada R-5 jazz bands. Blue Mound Sound is comprised of five Kunkel siblings -- Hayley, Shelby, Kylee, Rylee and Peyton--who play banjo, guitar, mandolin, bass and violin. Vocal selections of both solo and duet songs will be performed by Kaleb Claypool, Krista Dipman, Shelby Wilson, Mallorie Ast and Nathan Ast. Instrumental solos will be presented by Shelby Kunkel and Hayley Kunkel.

Friday night, March 4, presentations include ensemble performances by the Blue Mound Sound and the Junkyard Drummers. The Junkyard Drummers are a group of four sixth-grade percussionists, Jake Asberry, Dylan Petitt, Elena Rodriguez and Megan Hold. They will be doing a Stomp-style act using basketballs, trash cans of various sizes and an old washtub. Vocal solos and duets will be presented by Kaleb Claypool, Krista Dipman, Bridget Naas, Kelsey Leavell, Madison Johnson, Sami Fine and Nathan Ast. Heaven Farmer will lip synch to a popular Taylor Swift song. Hayley Kunkel, Shelby Kunkel and Lauren Young will perform instrumental solos.

Both ensemble and group performances continue on Saturday night, March 5, with the Nevada High School Drumline, the Junkyard Drummers and the Blue Mound Sound. Instrumental presentations will include Shelby Kunkel on fiddle, and Hayley Kunkel on classical guitar and banjo. Singing solo selections will be Nathan Ast, Kelsey Leavell, Hannah Tietz, Kaleb Claypool, Madison Johnson, and Mallorie Ast. Vocal duets this night will include Elizabeth Quitno and Rachel Pinci, as well as Shelby Wilson and Kaleb Claypool, and Krista Dipman and Kaleb Claypool. A lip synch will be performed by Heaven Farmer.

Sunday afternoon's show, March 6, highlights group performances by an NEVC Ensemble (Tucker Unruh, Josh Bachand and Dalton Unruh), the Nevada High School Drumline, the Junkyard Drummers and the Blue Mound Sound. Instrumental solos will include Hayley Kunkel and Shelby Kunkel. Vocal solos include Kaleb Claypool, Sami Fine, Mallori Ast, Madison Johnson, Hannah Tietz, and Nathan Ast. Duets will be performed by the same singers as on Saturday. Also featured will be Levi Bin in a storytelling performance.

Admission is $6 per person. Patrons should note that the Thursday, Friday and Saturday night performances will start at 7 -- an hour earlier than the normal time for play productions. The Youth Showcase is sponsored by the Nevada Regional Medical Center and directed by Allison Fast. Others helping with the showcase include Kathleen Day, Tim Wilson, Tom Schmidt and Kyle Schmidt. You won't want to miss this family-friendly hometown version of America's Got Talent! There will be something for everyone.