By Libby Cluett
lcluett@mineralwellsindex.com
Ten contestants faced three discriminating judges and an audience of over 250 to compete for the 2008 Mineral Wells Idol crown.
At Saturday night’s singing competition “votes” came in the form of dollars stuffed into fish bowls for each contestant. Winning with the most “votes” cast was Teri Richardson of Perrin who belted out the Prince classic “Purple Rain.”
Hosted by the Mineral Wells Area Chamber of Commerce, the event took place at the scenic outdoor amphitheater at the Double J Hacienda and Art Ranch.
In the runner-up slot were the “Reba McIntire and Dolly Parton” team of Aurora Garcia and Jessica Dudley singing “9 to 5.”
Also in the top five were: Willie Coe, playing guitar, harmonica and bluesing the crowd with Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “The Sky is Crying”; Patty Clark, who both sang the lyrics and told the story of “Harper Valley PTA”; and Amanda Gore, with a last-minute song change of “The Chokin’ Kind” by Joss Stone.
Emcee Ric Holly presented each contestant with colorful commentary. The three judges – two of which were at times unrelenting – gave feedback after each performance. Representing Randy was Karium Carter, Paula was Megan Horton and Simon was Rhett Warren.
Besides the opportunity to showcase talent, the chamber netted an estimated profit of $10,000 from votes and auction items.
Dwain Eaton of Cole’s House of Flowers presented auction items donated by chamber board members.
The highest bid Saturday evening came when Caleb Randall paid $850 for a package donated by Melanie Weatherly of First Financial Bank. Randall’s bid will take him four laps around the Texas Motor Speedway at 155 miles per hour. In addition he received tickets to an Indy Race, according to chamber director Beth Watson.
“We greatly appreciated all who participated and hope everyone had a fabulous time,” said Watson.
