Hoedown Showdown

The Wild Wild West Hoedown is one of Canada’s largest and best-known annual community fundraisers, established by Magna founder and Chairman Frank Stronach 19 years ago. The charity event draws thousands of residents each year who come out to enjoy a Texas-style BBQ dinner and dance to some of the top entertainers in Canadian country music. All proceeds from this year’s Hoedown will go to ten local charities and community organizations assisting youth, seniors and families in need. The event also includes line dancing, a silent auction and the Prospector’s Raffle, with top prizes such as a Ford Mustang and a trip to Munich, Germany. Last year’s Hoedown raised $410,000 for local charities and not-for-profit organizations, and featured CTV Toronto news anchor Ken Shaw as Master of Ceremonies, as well as Canadian country stars Jason McCoy, Beverly Mahood, Karla Crawford and Lisa Hewitt.



Celebrity guest appearances at last year’s Hoedown included Miss Universe Natalie Glebova, heavyweight boxing great George Chuvalo, and former Toronto Maple Leafs Nick Kypreos and Doug Gilmour.



This year, the Hoedown is launching a search for Canada’s next great country music star as part of the festivities in what will be its first ever “Hoedown Showdown.” The winner will receive a $3,500 Gibson guitar, a $2,500 cash prize and the opportunity to sing on the Hoedown stage alongside some of Canada’s top country stars in front of a live audience of approximately 3,500 people. The runner-up will also receive a Gibson guitar!



Contestants must send in their audition and will be judged on the basis of vocal and musical talent, originality, self-confidence and presentation. A panel of celebrity judges will select the best country singer in a “Showdown” consisting of three rounds of competition, with all three rounds taking place at Graystones, a local landmark bar and restaurant located on Yonge Street in Aurora.



The Preliminary round of judging will take place on Wednesday, August 30th, from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., with the Semi-Final round slated for Wednesday, September 6th at the same time. The selection of this year’s “Hoedown Showdown” winner will be determined at the Finals on Wednesday, September 13th, beginning at 8:00 p.m. Members of the public are invited to attend all three rounds of the live judging competition. A panel of celebrity judges and country music industry personalities will select the winner.



This actual Hoedown event featuring the winner of the competition will take place on Saturday, September 16th, 2006 at the Magna International campus in Aurora.



Please note:



All artists submitting for consideration for the Hoedown Showdown must have a minimum of 1 song in their EPK that contains only vocals and one instrument as instrumentation.