SGR Spectacular to be held on Friday

The Students for Global Responsibility (SGR) Spectacular, an annual benefit show featuring Blair performers, will be held on Friday, Dec. 19 from 6:30 - 10 p.m. in the SAC. There is no entrance fee, but a $5 contribution is suggested. All proceeds will be given to the Grassroot Soccer organization, which uses soccer as a tool to educate and support children to live HIV/AIDS free.

sgr spectacular tori heller

Photo: Senior Tori Heller, shown above performing at last year's SGR Spectacular, will be one of several performers at this Friday's concert.

Senior Tori Heller, shown above performing at last year's SGR Spectacular, will be one of several performers at this Friday's concert.  Photo courtesy of Gili Perl.

The Spectacular will host 14 acts on Friday. Performances will include folk singing by senior Tori Heller, hip-hop dancing by the Diva Dancers and slam poetry by Jumi Bello and Anna Hadfield. Local restaurants like Baja Fresh and Austin Grill have donated food that will be free for guests, according to SGR President David Meyer.

Last year's Spectacular raised around $1600 for the St. Bernard Project and Habitat for Humanity, according to Meyer. This year, senior SGR members Anna Rassman and Molly Brune conceived the idea of donating the concert's funds to Grassroot Soccer. Rassman went to South Africa this summer with Grassroot Soccer, and she felt that the Spectacular would be an excellent opportunity to raise money for the organization's worthy cause. "I have seen it in action and they get information across to the kids in Africa, where more than one out of three are affected by AIDS," Rassman said. "It really works, and you know where the money is going."

Tryouts for the Spectacular were held on Nov. 18 and 19 and seven acts were chosen. "Basically, we advertised the tryouts on InfoFow and tried to get a variety," SGR member Greg Friedman said.

SGR hopes to represent the broader Blair community in the show. "There will be performances from all parts of Blair," Meyer said. "There was a lack of diversity in the audience last year, and we hope to add diversity this year."

Last year's Spectacular extended well past the scheduled time. This year, SGR picked less acts to perform longer sets, which "is something to watch," according to Meyer.

Editor's note: David Meyer is a Managing News Editor for Silver Chips Print.