Fort Hall community shows their ‘Rising Rez Starz’ talent at annual show
“Rising Rez Starz” talent show contestants at the annual talent show at the Sho-Ban Casino Hotel on November 21.
By BREE BAKER
Sho-Ban News
FORT HALL — The Waapi Kani (Cedar House) 13th Annual “Rising Rez Starz” Talent Show was held at the Shoshone-Bannock Casino Hotel on Thursday, November 21, 2024. There were 24 Fort Hall community members who competed in the talent show and showcased their talents. Behavioral Health Manager Jason Butler said “the whole purpose of this event is to create wellness in our community” and highlight the good things and talents that our people have.
There were six categories dancing, musical instrument, comedy, lip-syncing, traditional talent, and singing. The event started at 5:30 but community members arrived early to register for the talent show and get the best seats. T-shirts were given to the first 200 people to arrive and everyone was given a ticket for door prizes. A dinner was provided to those in attendance, consisting of salad, mashed potatoes and gravy, vegetables, Indian tacos, stew, and dessert. Jordan Broncho was the emcee for the event, he announced the contestants and the door prize winners.
Grand prize winner RoseAnn Abrahamson (left) tells a story about how the buzzard got its feathers.
RoseAnn Abrahamson was named the grand prize winner and she won for her storytelling. She shared the story of how buzzard got its feathers. She had four helpers on stage with her, who played the birds. She says, “our old people tell these stories, I really like this one and I think you’ll like it to.” She told the story of how in the early days the birds were naked and cold, one day they all got together and chose the strong one, buzzard, to fly up way past the hot sun to creator to see if he had their feathers ready. When he got there, he asked Creator “where are the feathers?” Creator told him they were in that box and said “you can pick whatever you like” so buzzard tried on all the different feathers, fancy ones, green ones, white ones, and colorful ones but he didn’t like them. While trying on the different feathers he was tossing them down to Earth and the other birds caught them. Buzzard kept digging in the box for more feathers, then he looked in the box and it was empty. He went back to Creator and asked if he had anymore feathers, Creator told him “look in that other box, I got some scraps” so in the end all buzzard was left with was little white, grey, and brown feathers and that’s why he looks the way he does. Abrahamson said “I decided to share a story because there are so many humorous stories among our people. They are just hilarious. This time of the year, it’s winter and it’s time to share stories so I thought I’d share one of the funniest ones that I know. I hope everyone enjoyed it because it was fun.”
Dancing duo Azayla Dann and Chloe Tinno were the only contestants and first place winners in the Dance category, they performed a dance to the song “Dancing in the Dark” by Rihanna from the movie Home. Zander Broncho was the only contestant and first place winner in the musical Instrument category, he played some guitar riffs for the crowd. There were two contestants in the comedy category, first place went to Stacie Gomez who told jokes and second place went to Rebecca Ellsworth who told a humorous story about cruising the backroads of Fort Hall.
Traditional Talent first place winner Susan Avila-Dixey sings a circle dance
song to honor her grandfather.
The Lip-Sync category had four contestants, first place went to Burdette Osborne who sang his own rendition of “If You’re Thinking You Want a Stranger” by George Strait. Some of his own lyrics he added to the song were “I called and asked you to put some Spring Creek music on” and “If you’re thinking you want a Sho-Ban.” Second place was Alese Wenee-Jim who lip-synced to the song “Nothing but a Good Time” by Poison. Third place was Zendaya Yupe, who lip-synced to the song “This Wish” by Ariana DeBose from the movie Wish. Honorable mentions were Carol Irwin and Marlysa Ute-Wahtomy, who lip-synced to the song Billionaire by Travie McCoy ft. Bruno Mars.
There were two contestants in the Traditional Talent category, first place went to Susan Avila-Dixey who sang a circle dance song in honor of her grandfather. Before her performance she said “It’s good to be here, it’s good to see all of you guys. I’m going to be singing a song about the mountains. In honor of my grandpa, he loved the mountains and that’s where he is now.” Second place went to Kelsey Bear, who sang “Peyote Healing” by Robbie Robertson.
The Singing category had the most contestants of the evening, first place went to Ariana and Aaron Roy Sr. who strummed the guitar and sang the song Mood Frowns. Second place went to Lavonte Dugger and Ronald Diaz who played the guitar and sang the song “Californication” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Third place went to LeeLayla Tendoy and WhiteCloud Goggles, who sang “Clint Eastwood” by the Gorillaz. Honorable mentions include Ellanis Stagner who sang “Leave It All To Me”, Zeme Soldier sang “Blackbird”, Darrel Archuleta played guitar and sang “Monsters”, and River Anderson sang “Past Lives”. While the judges tallied up the votes, Chevelle Racehorse asked if she could sing a song, she sang “Baby Love” by the Ronettes, she was awarded an honorable mention.
Musical Instrument winner Zander Broncho.
After everyone preformed Jason Butler, Behavioral Health Manager spoke. Butler thanked the contestants for having the courage to come on stage to share their talents, he thanked the Waapi Kani (Cedar House) and Recovery Services staff for their hard work, he thanked the event staff at the hotel for all the work they do behind the scenes, but most importantly he thanked the community for showing up to make the event a success. He said the whole purpose of the event is to create wellness in the community and highlight all the good things and talents that our people have to offer. He spoke of seeing the struggles people go through, especially in the field he works in, so taking time to highlight things like this are great. By getting together like this it helps create a “Healthy community where we enjoy each other, where we can come and visit and laugh, and just have a good time.”
The winners and prizes the received were Grand Prize $150 RoseAnn Abrahamson. Comedy: First place $100 Stacie Gomez, 2nd place $75 Rebecca Ellsworth. Lip-Sync: First place $100 Burdette Osborne, 2nd place $75 Alese Wenee-Jim, 3rd place $30 Zendaya Yupe. Musical Instrument: First place $100 Zander Broncho. Traditional: 1st place $100 Susan Avila-Dixey, 2nd place $75 Kelsey Bear. Dancing: First place $100 Azayla Dann and Chloe Tinno. Singing: First place $100 Aaron Roy Sr., 2nd place $75 Lavonte Dugger and Ronald Diaz, 3rd place $30 LeeLayla Tendoy and White Cloud Goggles. Honorable Mentions were Darrel Archuleta, Zeme Soldier, Ellanis Stagner, River Anderson, Carol Irwin, Marlysa Ute-Wahtomy, and Chevelle Racehorse. They were all awarded $5 each.
View more photos from the event on our Facebook page: click here.
