"Icon" Singing Competition Returning for a Third Year to 2011 Apple Harvest Festival

    SOUTHINGTON, CT, August 13, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- "Southington Icon, A Singing Competition" will be returning for a third year to the 43rd Annual Southington Apple Harvest Festival, located in the downtown district of Southington, Connecticut and to be held the last weekend of September and first weekend of October. Major sponsors of this dynamic event include Positive Energy, Omega Communications, Image Marketing Consultants, and Southington Arts Council.

"The past two years proved to be extremely successful and allowed over 100 contestants from CT to showcase their singing talent in front of an audience of thousands over a five-day period," says Melissa Ericksen, Icon Chairman.

This year, organizers are anticipating an even greater response and expect approximately 250 singers ages 9 and up to come out and perform. Auditions will be held on Saturday, September 24th at Derynoski School located at 240 Main Street in Southington. Auditions will start at 10 am, and 12 finalists will be selected that day. Individuals from all over Connecticut, ages 9 and older, are eligible to audition and auditions will be acapella in true "icon" fashion. Cost for pre-registration is $35 and the cost for signing up at the auditions is $40 per entrant.

The live competitions will be held during the Apple Harvest Festival, a family-oriented festival which attracts over 200,000 visitors each year. The first live competition will be held on Saturday, October 1st from 5pm - 6pm, at the main stage at the Apple Harvest Festival and will continue on Sunday, Oct. 2nd, from 4pm - 5pm, Friday, Oct. 7th, from 6:30pm - 7:30pm, Saturday, Oct. 8th from 2pm - 3pm, and Sunday, Oct.9th, from 1pm - 2pm at which point a winner will be selected and announced. Audience members will be able to vote for their favorite performer online at http://www.southingtonicon.com or at the Southington Icon voting booth located within the festival.

The first prize winner will receive $1,000 and various bookings to showcase their talent at local restaurants in Southington. The winner will also receive professional recording studio time at Onyx Soundlab: Recording & Production Studio. Second and third prize winners will also be awarded various prizes from local businesses. Individuals from local church, school, performance, and theater groups are highly encouraged to audition, as the exposure to such a large audience in central Connecticut has been unprecedented over recent years. Various sponsorship levels are also available for businesses looking to get involved in Southington Icon.

For more information, contact Melissa Ericksen at [email protected] or visit the website at http://www.southingtonicon.com or at www.facebook.com/southingtonicon.

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