ANOKA COUNTY FAIR AMATEUR TALENT CONTEST
Phone: 763-427-4070
www.anokacountyfair.com
The Anoka County Fair Talent Contest is open to all amateur entertainers. Professionals (union musicians or those whose talent is a principal source of income) are not permitted to enter.
Eligibility and Divisions:
For 1st place winners in ANY division, you cannot compete in that same division the following year. Any individual cannot enter in more than 1 division. However, you may enter as part of a group in another division.
In addition, past 1st place winners of the Minnesota State Fair Amateur Talent Contest in the Open division may NOT compete again at the County Fair level; and past 1st place winners of the Minnesota State Fair Amateur Talent Contest may NOT compete in that same division at the County Fair level.
There are 3 divisions – Open, Teen and Pre-teen. The Open division is for contestants of any age, but ages 19 and over MUST compete in the Open division. The Teen division age requirements are 13 through 18. The Pre-teen division is for ages 12 and under. Ages for each division are based upon age of contestant as of the starting day of the Anoka County Fair. NOTE: When an act/group contains more than one (1) contestant, the age of the oldest person in that group will determine the division.
Entry Fee:
Contestants must submit the ENTRY FORM along with the $10.00 Entry Fee (fees may apply for processing). Entries for each division is limited and will be managed on a first come/first served basis. DEADLINE for the application is 5pm the Friday before the Anoka County Fair starts. No refunds are issued unless the talent coordinator is notified one (1) week prior to performance date.
SCHEDULE:
FRI: 4:00 to 6:00pm
SAT: 1:00 to 3:00pm – Finals begin at 3:45pm for all Divisions.
Judging:
Contestants are judged on quality of performance (talent), stage presence (use of stage/mic, eye contact), entertainment value and selection (did the selection fit the contestant’s ability to perform, was it appropriate for the performer/venue/audience).
All judging decisions are final and score sheets are not released to the contestants or the public. ABSOLUTELY NO PROPS ARE ALLOWED (instruments are not considered props). LIP-SYNC ACTS ARE NOT ALLOWED. Also, we do not take bands for performances due to the amount of time to set up; if you have instruments or keyboards, please be prepared to share what the set up will be like a check in (plug-in’s, mic access, etc).
Judges will select 6 winners from each division, if applicable to the amount of performers in each division, to advance to the finals on Saturday, which start at 3:45pm. If there are not 6 performers, all acts will advance to the finals but are still required to perform.
Advancement for Winners to the State Fair
The 1st place division winner will be invited to compete WITH THE SAME ACT at the MN State Fair Amateur Contest. If this person/act has been selected by another Fair to compete at the MN State Fair, they ARE NOT ELIGIBLE to represent Anoka County Fair, then the 2nd place winner in that division will represent Anoka County Fair and advance to the State Fair. This will not affect the Anoka County Fair placement or prize money won by the contestant.
PER THE MN STATE FAIR:
- 1st Place Open Division WINNERS of the MN State Fair Contest are ineligible to compete in ANY county fair contest.
- 1st place Teen and Preteen winners are not allowed to compete in their same division. Past teen division winners may compete in the Open division. Past preteen winners may compete in the Teen Division, if they are of age. If not, preteen winners may compete in the Open Division.
- Past 1st place winners of any division at the State Fair level may NOT compete in that same division at the State Fair.
Selection – Time Limits
All contestants must perform the same act in the finals that was performed in the initial performance. The time limit is four (4) minutes with points deducted for contestants going over this limit.
SOUND: TAPES, CD’s and USB
The MN State Fair exclusively uses and requires USB for their performances, and that is recommended for the Anoka County Fair as well. All contestants are required to use the sound system provided by the Anoka County Fair. The County Fair provides microphones, compact disc, cassette and USB access under the direction of the professional technician on duty. Please give your performance materials, cued and ready, as needed, at check in. ONLY TAPES, CD’S AND USB WILL BE ALLOWED. NO IPADS, IPOD, LAPTOPS OR ANY CELL PHONES WILL BE ACCEPTED, NO EXCEPTIONS.It is recommended you bring a back-up of your performance materials, on the same medium or a different medium.
NOTE: Vocal acts will be disqualified if there is ANY vocal on the accompaniment recording. If the contestants are a dance group where vocals are NOT part of the act, the medium may contain vocals.
We also do not have access to a keyboard/piano or any type of back-up band for contestants.
Check In and Cancellations
All acts are required to check in 30 minutes prior to the start of each performance time in front of the Band Shell. In case of rain or bad weather, the Fair will either reschedule or cancel the event with all Talent Show entry money refunded (not admission tickets).
Admission – Parking
This year we will be offering 1 free gate admission with your prepaid contest entry (limited to 1 free gate admission ticket per act, regardless of the number of people in the act) and 1 free gate admission for any contestants that perform on Friday and move to the Finals on Saturday
All contestants and their group are responsible for their own gate admissions outside of the 1 free admission. We offer FREE PARKING and FREE GRANDSTAND admissions with paid gate.
Prize Money
PRETEEN DIVISION 1ST PLACE 125.00 2ND PLACE 75.00 3RD PLACE 50.00
TEEN DIVISION 1ST PLACE 125.00 2ND PLACE 75.00 3RD PLACE 50.00
OPEN DIVISION 1ST PLACE 200.00 2ND PLACE 100.00 3RD PLACE 75.00