A Semiahmoo Peninsula-raised singer-songwriter is the winner of the 2016 CBC Music Searchlight contest.
Desiree Dawson, an Earl Marriott Secondary grad, had her song Hide, picked as the top entrant in a TV special that aired May 22.
The singer and ukelele-player – who has received local exposure in open mic evenings at South Surrey's Good Day Sunshine Cafe – has been working on a debut EP in Kingston, Jamaica, but makes her home in Vancouver, where she was born.
Dawson, who was one of some 2000 entrants for the contest, won a $50,000 grand prize, including $20,000 in equipment from Yamaha Canada and a studio-time and mentorship package sponsored by Canadian Musician magazine.