Tuscaloosa Talent Show Raises Money for Oakdale Elementary School
Tuscaloosa will see its 11th annual talent show on Sunday, May 2, 2021.
Auditions for Tuscaloosa's Got Talent have just wrapped on Saturday in preparation for the upcoming show at the Bama Theatre in May. The event is hosted by Drishti 4 Humanity, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping provide funds for local organizations in need.
Each year, proceeds from ticket sales will go toward a charity of choice. All of the proceeds from this year's event will go toward Oakdale Elementary School's library.
Tuscaloosa's Got Talent (TGT) has been an annual event in the Druid City since 2009. The talent show has run for 12 years consistently, though the show was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
TGT event organizer Dibya Singh said she is hoping for a good turnout at this year's show, despite the social slowdown of the pandemic.
"We've had up to 80 contestants before. Normally we'd like to keep 50 [contestants] but this year, I'll be honest, I'm just hoping for 30 with COVID and everything going on," Singh said. "But we were like, 'The show has to go on this year.' No matter what, we're going to try our best to do it."
Singh said there aren't any current plans to have a virtual talent show for this year's event. According to her, it would be more beneficial to have audiences show their support in person since the show is created to raise money for charity.
"We can give a Zoom link out if we feel the need, but we're going to see," she said. "We still have until May 2 to decide."
A virtual talent show presents a myriad of issues that would complicate operations for Singh and her organization, she said.
"We need our audience participation because we get money from ticket sales," Singh said. "So, we would have to have a link to charge people [for a virtual show]. It's a whole other complicated situation."
The talent show is available for participants of all ages and there will be a variety of prizes for the contest winners. The first prize is being sponsored by Cancer Research Center, the second prize is being sponsored by La Bamba Mexican Grill and the third prize will be sponsored by Taco Casa.
For more information about Tuscaloosa's Got Talent 2021, click here.