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K'amba Carnival: Even younger children to perform at talent show

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Syrii Norwegian, left, sings while accompanied by the guitar playing of her mother, Jennifer Norwegian, during the Youth Talent Show of the 2018 K'amba Carnival on the Hay River Reserve. NNSL file photo

There will be something new for the Youth Talent Show at K'amba Carnival on the Hay River Reserve.

A category has been added for children five years of age and under.

"We added the five-and-under category this year so everybody has a chance to win at K'amba, and for the joy and to build confidence and esteem," said Jamie Heron, the co-ordinator of the event. "And basically my goal is to build up these young people and show them that you can do this, you do have talent, you can showcase it and walk away with a little bit of something."

Syrii Norwegian, left, sings while accompanied by the guitar playing of her mother, Jennifer Norwegian, during the Youth Talent Show of the 2018 K'amba Carnival on the Hay River Reserve.
NNSL file photoo

Heron is looking forward to seeing the talent of the children five years of age and under.

"I'm excited about it, I really am," she said.

One other change is the addition of a fiddling category for all ages.

"So I'm looking forward to that," said Heron.

The Youth Talent Show will begin at 6 p.m. on March 5 at the Chief Lamalice Complex, just after the crowning of the K'amba Carnival queen, princess and prince.

Along with the youngest children, there are three other age categories – six to 10 years, 11 to 14 years, and 15 to 17 years.

"There's jigging, there's singing, and there's open talent," said Heron.

Last year, she made a change to the talent show to allow the use of karaoke tracks with no vocals.

"That seemed to be very successful," she said. "It made for a really good show, and I'm going to follow the same criteria this year."

Heron noted that the Youth Talent Show is definitely one of the most popular events of the carnival.

"Last year, I put a cap on it so I can kind of control the timeline, and we did 20 contestants per category and we're going to do that again this year," she said.

Heron said the talent show is a great experience for the young people performing.