Local singer/songwriter, Jimmy Lewis will compete in the Grand Rapids Got Talent finals tonight.

Not only did Cedar Springs singer/songwriter Jimmy Lewis win the semifinal competition of Grand Rapids’ Got Talent show at The B.O.B. last week, he will compete against five other talented performers tonight, March 4, at 7:30 p.m. in the finals.

Three men and three women will vie for the grand prize of $1,000 first place, $500 for second place, and $250 for third.

Lewis, 20, faced off against 11 other contestants last Thursday and won the contest with an acoustic rendition of James Morrison’s “You make it real.”

While guest judges are present, it’s the fan vote that determines who wins—and they do it with their wallet. Each vote costs $1, and proceeds go to the Lacks Cancer Center at St. Mary’s Health Care. They have already raised a little under $10,000.

Besides Lewis, the only other area person that will be competing in the semifinals is a 15-year-old break-dancer from Rockford High School, Joe Belliel.

Out of the 200 who applied for the competition, 60 were chosen, and 15 competed each week in preliminary competition. There have been singers, dancers, hula hoop performers, rappers, illusionists and comedians.

The contest is put on by the B.O.B. and Creative Edge Productions.

If you are looking for fun entertainment on the nights of Friday, March 5 and Saturday, March 6, head to the recently renovated Kent Theatre in downtown Cedar Springs, to hear the sounds of the hot new band Red Flannel Pride. They play an eclectic mix of original tunes that has been identified as alternative hip-hop with a country twist. The band consists of local singer-songwriters Nick Emery, a 2001 Cedar grad and Michael Lewis of Comstock Park.

The band actually was formed in New Orleans and was searching for a name, when by chance they ran into another former Cedar grad, Tiffany Johansen, on Red Flannel Day, in Louisiana. As they were reminiscing about growing up in Cedar, and how much they missed the red flannel area they realized what the band needed to be called. They have been playing their blend of original music in the greater New Orleans area and received local radio airplay on station B97 Saints Smackdown with their song 4th and Long.

Also performing at Friday’s show will be the bands Klikred and My Car Your Car. On Saturday night, another local band, Off-Brand will be opening the show followed by Hurricane MF, a veteran rock outfit with West Michigan roots, who have been rockin’ the Midwest for over 20 years. The band will be shooting a live music video both nights at the concert. Everyone who shows their red flannel pride by wearing their red flannels to the concert will receive a free Red Flannel Pride bumper sticker. Festivities will begin at 8 o’clock, both evenings.

Tickets for the show are available from the band or at the theater. They are $7 in advance and $10 at the door. Student tickets are $7 with a student ID. Proceeds from the show will go toward continuing the restoration of the local landmark, Kent Theatre. So “Spread the Red” throw on a flannel shirt, come down to the theater and have a great time.

In the future the band will be performing at the Crazy Horse on 14 Mile Rd. Wednesday, March 3 and then will travel to Austin, Texas to appear in the South by Southwest Festival on March 20. If you would like to hear a clip from the band, just check it out on Myspace and Facebook, simply search for redflannelpride.

February is national birdfeeding month

(NAPS)—Americans love their feathered friends. More than 65 million people feed the birds that visit their backyards each year.
A new book offers these backyard birders some ideas to tweet about. “For the Birds” contains 50 all-natural recipes—from fruity favorites to beak-smacking suets and enticing nectars—to delight steady backyard guests and lure a variety of new species as well. No exotic ingredients are required.

Here’s a recipe to help birds produce healthy eggs.
Calcium Feast
3 cups wild birdseed or homemade seed mix
3–5 eggs (shells only)

Rinse the shells and put them on a cookie sheet to bake at 350°F (177°C) until dry. Use a rolling pin or spoon to crush them into fine pieces and sprinkle them into your seed mixture. Fill a tube feeder with this calcium-enhanced seed or serve in a tray feeder. Yields: 3 cups

You’ll find more recipes like this as well as tips on how to make recycled feeders using coconuts, grapefruits, muffin tins or apple boxes. Easy-to-read charts also let readers know which plants, feeders and nesting boxes are best for the types of birds they want to attract.

“For the Birds” is published by Reader’s Digest and is available wherever books are sold.

If you love musicals, and you missed it last year in Holland, you now have a chance to see Broadway, Our Way, a musical journey through Broadway’s greatest hits, at the B.O.B. in Grand Rapids. It stars award-winning actors: Kelly Carey, Cici Gramer, Stephen Grey, and Cedar Springs’ own Larry Young Jr., accompanied by a six-piece orchestra led by Wright McCargar.

Young and friend Kelly Carey wrote the show after forming Creative Edge Productions early last year. Together they create customized entertainment for corporate and private events. “We put together an entertainment package that fits their needs,” he explained to the Post last year.

They have also been sponsoring the “Grand Rapids Got Talent” productions at the B.O.B.

The Broadway, Our Way tribute features over twenty of Broadway’s most memorable songs from smash hit shows like Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, Wicked, Singing in the Rain, Annie Get Your Gun, The King and I, A Chorus Line, and many more!

Shows are March 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, 26, 27 and April 2, 3, 9, 10. Cocktail reception at 6:30 Dinner at 7:00 followed by Broadway, Our Way.

Tickets are $35 and includes the show, plated dinner and martini cocktail reception from Absolut.

Tickets can be purchased at etix.com or at The B.O.B. (20 Monroe Ave NW) 616-356-2000.

Sand Lake, MI – The Sand Lake Branch of Kent District Library will host Tom  Rademacher, long time columnist for the Grand Rapids Press, at 2:00 pm on Saturday, March 6. Rademacher will discuss his new book Splitting wood, a collection of 100 columns featuring stories “about ordinary people doing extraordinary thing.” Books will be available to purchase at the event, and a book signing will follow the presentation.

For more than three decades, Tom Rademacher endeared himself to readers of The Grand Rapids Press as a writer with a nose for news a keen eye for detail, and a desire to provide a voice for people both struggling and soaring. He retired from The Press in 2009, and now freelances. For more information on Rademacher and Splitting Wood, please visit www.tomrademacheronline.com.

For more information, visit www.kdl.org. The Sand Lake Branch of KDL is located at 88 Eighth Street.

ANNAPOLIS, Md.—Applications are being accepted Feb. 1 through March 31 for the United States Naval Academy Summer Seminar (NASS) 2010.  NASS is designed for students who will have just completed their junior year of high school in the summer of 2010. This program is a fast-paced, six-day experience for high-achievers who may be interested in pursuing an appointment to one of the nation’s service academies and serving as a military officer after graduation. NASS is held in three sessions: June 5-10, June 12-17 and June 19-24.

Summer Seminar introduces students to the opportunities at the Naval Academy where academics, athletics, and professional training play equally important roles in developing our nation’s leaders.  Students will live in the dormitory, Bancroft Hall, eat in the dining facility, King Hall; participate in academic and leadership workshops; and experience a variety of other activities at the academy.  Students will have an opportunity to see first-hand what the academy has to offer through its exceptional academic, athletic, extracurricular activities and leadership training programs.

The academy’s current students, known as midshipmen, run the Summer Seminar training with oversight by active duty Navy and Marine Corps officers.  Over 2,250 students from around the U.S. attend this rigorous program each year.

According to Naval Academy Summer Seminar officer-in-charge, Lt. John Meise,
“If you are a student who wants a summer challenge with the opportunity to sample university-level academics at a first-rate engineering school, the Summer Seminar program will let you discover how the Naval Academy can help you achieve your goals and give you a jump start on the admissions process.”

By applying to the 2010 Summer Seminar, students are also applying for admission to the Naval Academy class of 2015.  There is no need to submit a preliminary application when it becomes available on April 1 for students desiring to apply for admission to USNA.

Students with questions about NASS and the application process should call 410-293-1549 or visit www.usna.edu/admissions. The deadline for applications is March 31, 2010.

For more information about Naval Academy athletics, extracurricular activities and other general information, visit www.usna.edu.

The North Kent Service Center food pantry is seeking items to put in the 500 Easter baskets they will distribute to children this year. Items needed include the following:

Candy, fruit, snacks and gum; Easter basket grass; small stuffed animals or Beanie babies; bubbles; sidewalk chalk; jump ropes; baskets; crayons, markers, etc.; small cars.

If you can donate any of these items, please drop them off at the NKSC 10075 Northland Drive, between 12 and 13 Mile Road. Questions? Call 866-3478.

One of Cedar Springs own talented artists competed and won at the Grand Rapids’ Got Talent competition at THE B.O.B. last week.

Jimmy Lewis performed Matchbox Twenty’s “Hang” during the Feb 11 competition and ended up a winner with 733 votes being cast in his ballot box.

“I never expected to win,” said Lewis. “There was a great deal of talent competing and I feel honored to have been chosen by the audience!” Lewis had quite a turnout of support with family and friends from the Cedar Springs area totaling around 30 people.

Melissa (Missy) Armstrong, from Sand Lake, also competed singing “People get ready” by Curtis Mayfield.

Lewis will compete again in the semi-finals on Thursday, Feb. 25, along with 11 others, and six finalists will go on to compete for a $1,000 grand prize on March 4.

Casting began in January for local area talents to compete in the six-week competition.

“We’ve been pleasantly surprised by the great variety that have signed up,” said Kelly Carey of Creative Edge Productions, which is coordinating the contestants. “We’ve got break dancers, rappers, all sorts of singers.”

About 15 acts compete each Thursday at Bobarinos on the second floor of The B.O.B., where the audience can enjoy food and drinks. Each selected act pays a $20 fee, but there is no cover charge for the audience and minors are welcome also.

Have you written a poem that you would like to share?  Do you have a favorite poem you think others would like? You have the chance to stand on the stage at the Kent Theatre April 20, 7 p.m. and share a poem. The Cedar Springs Library is accepting reservations. We need your name and a copy of your poem to help us prepare a program.  Contact Donna Clark @ ceddc@llcoop.org or call the library at 616-696-1910.

The Cedar Springs Women’s Club announces the availability of a $1,000.00 scholarship to a female of any age who resides in the Cedar Springs Public School District. Applications may be planning any type of skill training or degree program as long as it is at a Michigan public community/junior college, degree granting or vocational institution that leads to a degree, certification, or license. Applications do not need to be currently enrolled in high school.

The award will be base on a competitive process, which considers personal or academic achievement; and family, school or community activities. Final selection criteria are: Academic progress, school/community service, financial consideration, and career goal.

The award will be made without regard to race, creed, color, religion, or national origin. And the winner will be announced by June 1.

Women currently attending high school can obtain an application from their high school counselor. Please be sure that you have a current application. It should be dated 2009. Women who have left high school can obtain one by contacting Carol Hordyk (696-0090), Claudia Mabie (696-3541) or Sue Harrison (696-0456) or the Cedar Springs Public Library.

Deadline for receipt of application is April 1, 2010.