Have what it takes to win a talent show? $1,500 at stake in Modesto if you do

Got talent? Then the Gallo Center wants to hear from you as it sets the stage for the 2018 Valley Talent Project.

The Gallo Center for the Arts is accepting applications for its annual talent competition, set for August this year. Categories include male and female vocals, dance single/duet, dance ensemble, instrumental, band, original song composition and specialty acts.

The performer declared to have the most talent by a panel of judges will receive a $1,500 prize, with $750 prizes for each category winner as well as the pick for the audience favorite award.

This will be the ninth year of the competition and organizers are expanding the geographical zone for entries. Traditionally fielding contestants from Stanislaus, San Joaquin, Merced, Tuolumne, Calaveras and Mariposa counties, this year people from within a 100-mile radius of the Gallo Center also can apply.

“As the reach and impact of the Valley Talent Project has grown, so has the interest from potential participants in the Sacramento and Fresno areas,” coordinator Sarah Ortega Hosner said in a press release. “We felt it was time to expand.”

An online application, event rules and instructions can be found at galloarts.org; deadline is May 4. Selected applicants audition before judges who will determine the finalists.

Valley Talent Project is a fundraiser for the Gallo Center that’s raised more than $175,000 for the nonprofit downtown Modesto arts venue. About 200 acts featuring more than 750 area performers have taken the Valley Talent Project stage and $55,000 in prizes has been awarded to contestants.

Elsewhere around the Scene: State board post for Carnegie director

Turlock’s Carnegie Arts Center Director Lisa McDermott has been elected to the Board of Directors of the California Association of Museums (CAM). The board consists of 23 museum professionals from throughout the state.

“Often the small museums in places like the Central Valley get overlooked, but CAM supports museums large and small across our diverse state,” McDermott said in a press release. “Being part of this team is an affirmation of the value of museums in every community.”

McDermott has been appointed to two of the association’s committees, government relations (focusing on advocacy and legislation that affects museums) and multicultural and emerging professionals (which oversees scholarship funds and professional development efforts).

Alicia Villarreal at Gallo Center

Latin singer Alicia Villarreal, former lead singer of the top-selling Grupo Límite, brings her music to the Gallo Center for the Arts on Friday.

Villarreal launched her solo career in 2001 and became a star with her fusion of norteno and Latin pop. Her 2009 album “La Jefa” featured more traditional Mexican fare with rancheras and ballads and debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Regional Mexican Albums and No. 4 on its Latin Albums chart.

When Villarreal’s brother was killed in a car accident that same year, she retreated from the music world until earlier this year when she released the ranchera single “Haz Lo Que Quieras” and followed it with “Te Aprovechas,” a cumbia-cum-mariachi duet with the pop duo Ha*Ash. Both are part of her first new studio album in eight years, “La Villarreal.”

Villarreal performs at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 30, at the Gallo Center, 1000 I St., Modesto. Tickets are $39-$79 at galloarts.org.

Modesto band releases video

A Modesto-raised alternative pop band has produced its first music video, directed by the lead singer’s brother. Year of the Brother members Brennan Mari, Tom Rydquist, and Elijah Gundlach are all Beyer High alums who have released their first EP, “Filling Empty Pools.” Their video for “Slow One” is directed by Derek Mari, an independent filmmaker in Los Angeles. It can be viewed on at www.vimeo.com/directorderek or on Year of the Brother’s YouTube channel.

This story was originally published March 20, 2018 at 12:14 PM with the headline "Have what it takes to win a talent show? $1,500 at stake in Modesto if you do."