on November 6th Westminster had their annual talent show, but this time with a twist.

In the past, the Westminster talent show has been live and in performance on the theatre stage in the arena. But this year, due to covid-19, we were unable to gather together, so Mike Rohfling and a handful of students and other faculty members put their heart and soul into making this the best talent show we had ever seen. (They were successful). The talent show consisted of 16 performances that ranged from water skiing to reciting poetry. With the talent show being filmed mostly before the actual show time it gave more opportunities for unique acts to perform. Jadyn Patton and Cameron Patton had the chance to show off their water skiing abilities out at lake St. Louis. Zach Leeker for his fourth year in a row got up and sang the classic Elton John hit Rocket Man. The class of 2026 was well represented in the talent show, having two singers and gymnastics performances for us. 

In between performances we got to see live trivia and a beach ball competition for real cash. Parker Stillman was the host of this year’s talent show so of course, we had to see a few comedy sketches with him and a few others, such as Mr. Malory and some fellow seniors. 

When I asked around to see how some liked the talent show, it was nothing but positive feedback. “The talent show this year was so unconventional in comparison to all the ones in the past, but that gave it the opportunity to have a lot more variety, I think they should continue on the virtual talent shows from now on” Belle St. John, junior, said. 

The grand prize this year was 300 dollars for first place, 100 dollars for second place, and 50 dollars for third place. Joseph White and Isaiah Thompson, who wrote and performed an original rap song about Westminster, won the 300 dollar grand prize. Jadyn Patton and Cameron Patton won the second place prize. And Annessa Shively and her little brother won the third-place prize with their singing and piano playing. 

Big thanks to Mike Rohlfing and all the AV students filming, who helped to put on one of the most magnificent talent shows the community has ever gotten to see. We would not have had this opportunity to enjoy each other’s talents without them so thank you to all who helped put the showtime at the academy together.