‘Ohio Has Talent!’ contestants preparing

VW independent/submitted information

The popular “Ohio Has Talent!” show returns at 7 p.m. Saturday, February 24, at the Niswonger Performing Arts Center of Northwest Ohio in Van Wert. This year’s talent show, presented by Community Health Professionals (CHP), features 18 acts hailing from around the region competing for cash prizes of $1,000, $500, and $250 determined by audience votes.

Acts for this year’s show include the following:

The Glamour Girls is the premier performance ensemble of the Bachwell Center for Music & Dance in Van Wert. Anna Wasson, Annika Maples, Debbie Jones, Sofia Houg, Brittany Fetzer, and Annabella Cooper make up this talented group of 11- to 15-year-old girls.

Lainie Jones is a senior at Lincolnview High School in Van Wert County and lives in Venedocia. She has been in school theatre productions and often sings the national anthem at basketball games.

Tim Kindinger and Jody Wade. Wade is from Elida and a registered nurse at St. Rita’s Medical Center in Lima. She has performed with various groups in the region. Kindinger is from Van Wert, is involved with the worship team at his church and also joins the local band Exploit at some of its shows.

The Clogettes are a Lima-area group led by Teresa Dunlap, a self-taught clogger who started the Koinonia Cloggers in 1998. Those groups performed around the country for five years. This act consists of Dunlap and her four daughters, Cherise, Kendra, Kellie, and Lauren.

Reese Looser is from Perrysburg, with roots in Putnam County. She is 13 and a member of Perrysburg High School choir, drama club, and show choir competition team. She has performed in many musicals over the years, performing since she was just a year old.

Spencer Pauquette is a freshman at Van Wert High School and has played guitar since he was 6 years old. He is the lead guitarist for his church worship team and leads singing for the kid’s worship team. Pauquette is a member of the VWHS marching and symphonic bands as a snare drummer and hopes to pursue a career in music.

Natalee Patrick of Delphos is training to be a nurse, but finds time to follow her passion for music. She returns to “Ohio Has Talent!” along with her father, James, as her guitarist. Patrick has performed at various events throughout northwest Ohio.

Isaac and Joscie LeFevre are siblings from Fort Recovery. Joscie LeFevre started singing in fourth grade and participated in the musical Annie Jr. Isaac LeFevre was in his first school musical while in first grade and has continued his love to perform with several other musicals.

Yan and May Coppler are a mother and daughter vocal duet from Fostoria. Yan Coppler is a classically trained vocalist and introduced this style of music to her daughter in 2010. The Copplers sing at church, charity events, and pageants. May Coppler recently had an opportunity to sing with an orchestra in Chicago and perform a solo at Carnegie Hall.

Lauren Schroeder of Celina has been performing on stage since she was 7 years old. She has played piano for seven years and studied several forms of dance for 11 years. She is also self-taught on the guitar and plays the saxophone. She aspires to attend Berklee College of Music in Boston to further her music and stage career.

Evie Van Vorhis is a 9-year-old from Bowling Green who has been singing since age 4 and holds the title of being the youngest soloist ever to perform with the Toledo Symphony Orchestra. Next month she is singing the national anthem at the OHSAA boys basketball finals in Columbus.

Awakened Commotion is a pop a cappella group from Hardin Northern High School in Dola. The group was formed in 2009 and is under the direction of Kelly Eikenbary. Members are chosen annually through audition from eighth grade to senior and include Cassidy Deckling, Claria Wilson, Ryland Bame, Maddie Grappy, Francesca Bejarano, Eli Cooper, Hannah Flowers, Aubrey Hedges, Joe Johnson, and Sebastian Johnson.

Alexis Muhlenkamp is a junior at Coldwater High School, where she is involved in symphonic, marching, and pep bands, symphonic choir, and drama club, as well as taking dance lessons and teaching religion classes with her dad.

Bayley Tow is a 2015 graduate of Lincolnview High School. He is a self-taught guitarist who enjoys writing his own music and plays in his church worship band.

Dancers Elite is a group from Dancer’s Elite Studio in Bluffton. Members include Anita Maynard, Olivia Burner, Mara Minnig, Katelyn Fellrath, and Sidnie Koontz.

Katelyn Hanes is a freshman at Tri-Village High School in New Madison. She represented her school at the OMEA solo and ensemble contests and received a superior rating. She worked on “Under the Sea” at the Victoria Theatre in Dayton.

Dru and Michaella Johnson are a brother-sister duo from Van Wert High School. Michaella, a junior, first performed at “Ohio Has Talent!” at 6 years old, has been active in various theatre productions at VWHS, and was recently selected by Stepp Stewart to perform in “Red, White, and Blue Revue” in Atlanta and has received a call back from “The Voice” TV show. Dru Johnson loves Christian rap and writes his own songs.

The Vaughn Sisters — Nora, Addy, and Marlee Vaughn — are 16-year-old singing triplets from Fort Recovery who attend St. Henry High School. The girls are active in high school sports and activities.

Gabe Bailey & Rocksteady. Bailey, who was voted the winner of “Ohio Has Talent!” in 2017, returns with bandmate Skylar “Rocksteady” Sikes to perform during vote counting. Both are sophomores at South Adams High School in Berne, Indiana.

Proceeds from the show benefit the CHP Hospice Patient Care Fund, which helps pay uncovered patient care expenses.

Tickets are available through the Niswonger ticket office by calling 419.238.6722 or online at www.npacvw.org.