Day 6: Twenty-five performers delight crowd at Evening of Excellence
On Friday evening, 25 Grangers showed off their talents in the annual Evening of Excellence. Vocal, speech, sign-a-song, instrumental, and variety acts entertained a large crowd of Grange members for more than two hours.
Two particularly moving speeches were presented by Colleen Foster and Elizabeth Lesley. Foster presented “You Don’t Know Me,” relating a story of an abused and neglected child. She urged the audience to “see people for more than their circumstances.” Elizabeth Lesley asked “Are you hearing or are you listening? Make an effort to listen with your heart,” as she related her personal struggles and attempted suicide.
New Hampshire Granger Adam Terrell performed in both the sing-a-song and speech categories with Native American Sign Language (NASL). Terrell told the audience that NASL is the easiest sign language to learn and requires no facial expression with delivery.
The evening culminated in an audience vote for best acts in the variety, vocal, instrumental, and speech categories. Lurae Benzio was the winner in the speech category from Pennsylvania with “Music Moves My Soul.” Benzio used lyrics from a variety of popular songs spanning several decades to tell a detailed story. Harry Traxler from Ohio tickled the ivories with his rendition of “Whispering,” which provided him a win in the Instrumental category. Disney’s signature Little Mermaid song, “Part of Your World,” was brought to life by Jen Beamon of Pennsylvania, which allowed her to secure the vocal category win. In the variety category, James Lesley and Cole Settle from North Carolina entertained the audience with their musical skill and comical lyrics from “The Rooster Song .”
