Open Mic Night offers community a chance to show its talent

By Stephen Dafoe

Morinville – The Morinville and District Chamber of Commerce’s annual Trade Show is not the only place to find entertainment next Friday night. Higher Grounds coffee shop will be holding their first Hot Dogma open mic night Apr. 15, a gathering of local talent in a relaxed atmosphere that organizers are hoping will bring out the community’s variety of talent.

“Dogma means that you’re pretty sure you’re right, you’re pretty sure you’re correct – your opinion is correct,” said Higher Grounds volunteer and Hot Dogma organizer Crystal Terhorst. “We’re looking for people who are pretty sure that they’re good entertainers or good singers or good dancers. We want them to prove it. We want to have an open mic night for people to come in as an outlet for them to showcase their talent.”

Terhorst said the evening will be fairly casual with performers getting two or three minutes at the microphone to do whatever it is they do. The inaugural Hot Dogma Open Mic Night has already lined up a variety of acts including song, dance and even improv.

The organizer said the event kicks off at 7 p.m. and although higher Grounds would prefer performers to sign up in advance, they are prepared to take people cold from the floor. All that is asked is that the act be for a general audience and that the performers be 15 and older. “Not that we’re going to refuse anybody, but we would like just a bit of an older group,” Terhorst said, adding there is no age limit cap.”

Terhorst said Higher Grounds is hoping to hold the open mic nights once or twice a month and they hope to eventually be able to bring in performers to play for an entire evening, paying the performers or at least providing them a share of proceeds from the evening. Additionally, the coffee shop and gathering place is hoping to host CD release parties for local musicians.

The concept is part of the coffee shop’s mission to provide Morinville residents an alternative to the bar scene on Friday evenings.

“On Friday nights we want to have entertainment in here, live entertainment,” Terhorst said, adding they brought in a band for their opening weekend a couple months ago. “We want to see more of that. There’s a lot of talent in Morinville. I see there are break dancers and all kinds of performers at the high school. We want to be a venue for these people so that they can show the town what they have and also to be a place that for young people – young adults or anybody – to come in and be entertained on a Friday night without having to go to the bar or St. Albert of Edmonton.”

Admission to the open mic night is free; however, Higher Grounds are hoping those watching the show will enjoy a beverage or two while watching the show. The coffee shop, located on 100 Avenue, is a volunteer-run shop with proceeds going back into the community to help a variety of initiatives.

For more information, contact Crystal Terhorst at Higher Grounds on 100 Avenue, between CX Shooters and Don’s Bistro.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

1 Comment

  1. I think this is a fabulous idea. Anytime the town can come together to support their own is a great opportunity for the town to grow together. There are so many talented people out there and having a place to showcase their talent will prove to be a stepping stone for many of them to bigger and better things. I look forward to attending as often as I can to show my support for these entertainers.

Comments are closed.