The Portsmouth River Days Festival (PRDF) is gearing up to host auditions for a local ‘Voice’ competition on Monday, June 6, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on the seventh floor of the Masonic Temple Building, 602 Chillicothe Street in downtown Portsmouth. The contest will be held July 9, 16, and 23.

Kelli Richardson, board member and secretary of PRDF, said they are elated about hosting the upcoming ‘Voice’ competition.

“We are really excited about this event. The community hasn’t had anything like this for a while, and just by sharing the information about it on Facebook we have had 150 shares, and over 100 people tagged in it, so I am hoping that we are going to have a really good turnout,” Richardson said. “So here is the catch, since this is our first year, we are only accepting the first 30 applicants that come and fill out the application and pay the registration fee will be the 30 that are in. I have all already had people let me know that they are going to be there early and waiting.”

Their objective was to venture out and try something different.

“We are trying something different, so we are going to go with it this way. On the first night we are going to have all 30 to sing acappella, and each person is pretty much going to go by numbers, they will each have a number. We will have a panel of judges each night which will consist of people from around our community, some are music teachers and so forth. They are going to pick out the top 15 for the first nigh,” she said. “On the second night we will let all 15 of the contestants have music or use CD’s. The judges will then vote, and then we will go down to seven contestants, and on the last Saturday all seven will perform and we are going to pick three out, and they are going to participate live on the sound stage during the Portsmouth River Days Festival, and the winner will be chosen then.”

The entry fee is $25, and the first 30 applicants will be accepted. The contest will be held July 9, 16, and 23. The top three finalists will perform live during the River Days on Sept. 4, for the final judging. All participants mus be 16 years or older, and the competition is open to amateur solo singers only.

Cash prizes will be awarded. For more information may be obtained by calling or texting to 740-716-9850. For contest rules visit the Portsmouth River Days Facebook page. All proceeds will be allocated towards the 2016 Portsmouth River Days Festival.