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Elgin grad leads search

South Surrey singer Ava Carich is winner of Roadhouse Live contest
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Ava Carich

Singer Ava Carich, 17 has been named winner of this year’s Roadhouse Live Youth Talent Search.

The Grade 12 Elgin Park Secondary student was selected following her performance in the final competition concert on Sunday at Blue Frog Studios in White Rock.

Carich was one of eight contestants – chosen from semifinals held at South Surrey’s Roadhouse Grille over the last two months – competing for top and runner-up positions at the event.

Second place went to singer/multi-instrumentalist Mireille Perez, 14, a Semiahmoo Secondary Grade 9 student, while third place was claimed by White Rock’s Neliah Jillings, 13.

It’s not the first result for Carich in the contest – she won third place last year, while fellow Elgin students and friends Josh Bogert took first and Richard Tichelman took second, and was showcased with other youth performers at White Rock Sea Festival on both the Spirit Stage and the Main Stage.

A recognition of the talents of young Semiahmoo Peninsula musicians (the top age for competitors was 19), this year’s contest was also as a tribute to one of the talent search’s most enthusiastic champions, late Roadhouse co-owner Dwayne Jacobson, who succumbed to cancer in February.

Prizes include gift certificates for musical equipment from Tapestry Music, studio time, career development sessions, and a chance to be showcased at both White Rock’s Canada Day and Sea Festival events.