By: Stolie Erickson | Writer
February 21, 2020
On Thursday, February 20, 2020, San Clemente High School’s “Best Buddies” program held a talent show to give children with disabilities a chance to express themselves in a positive way. The club had posted dozens of posters throughout the school, informing students and staff members to attend the show, which began at five p.m. and lasted until around seven p.m.
The cost to view the talent show was $5 for students and $10 for adults, and it took place in the Little Theater, truly conveying a stage-like situation with a seated audience. The program sold around 110 tickets, with about 100 people attending in all. There were about 20 acts performed by the students in Best Buddies, often accompanied by friends.
President Sydney Seefeldt and Co-President Kelly Whidden both worked extremely hard to put together this joyful and memorable experience for the students. It’s a lot of work to go around town and obtain donations in order to make props and decorations for the talent show.
The theme for the Best Buddies talent show this year was western. The little theater and the stage were decorated with hay, barrels, flannel flags, fences and other decorations that matched the theme. The talent show is a unique, positive environment that overall has an overwhelming sense of happiness.
“The talent show’s purpose is to create an inclusive environment where the students feel loved and appreciated,” San Clemente High School junior and President of Best Buddies Sydney Seefeldt said. “These are amazing kids with some pretty spectacular talents. It’s important that other students on campus are able to see this and further invest in the idea of inclusion.”
In terms of the acts, there were acts and they each ranged from around two to four minutes. The students performed a variety of acts, some of which included dancing, singing, joke telling, playing an instrument, doing karate, and painting. Unlike traditional talent shows an competitions, there are no awards, as Best Buddies aims to maintain a fair and comfortable place where the performers were capable of practicing self confidence and social skills.
“The performances were amazing,” SCHS junior and Vice President of Best Buddies Kelly Whidden said. “It takes a lot of courage to get up on the stage yet every single kid did it was confident and rocked it. We also have one of the most amazing and supportive audience of students, staff, family, and friends that are super encouraging.”
In addition to the Best Buddies talent show, the club puts on other events such as Christmas and Valentines parties, gift exchanges, friendship grams, and this coming March, Best Buddies Prom! Be sure to join Best Buddies at lunch on Monday if you’re interested!
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