Community Corner
'Riverhead Idol' Goes Back to the 80s in 8th Annual Competition
Emma Bernhardt wins first place with soulful rendition of "Black Velvet."
The 8th Annual Riverhead Idol Competition was held Saturday night at the Vail-Leavitt Music Hall. The first competition, presented by the Riverhead Youth Bureau Advisory Board, was held in 2002 as the first event planned by their start up team. This year's competition had a theme of "LikeToatally" 80's. All the finalists dressed and chose songs from the 80's.
Tryouts for the competition were held in January and 14 finalists were selected, 13 of whom performed Saturday night. The finalists were: Allie Lasot, Savannah Medina, Isabella LoPiccolo, Kaitlyn Jehle, Taylor Blando, Sophia Parise (unable to attend), Kimi Rodriguez, Miranda Burwell, Victoria Carroll, Kamihko O'Connor, Dakota Cohen, Emma Bernhardt, Bethany Liddle and Elise Littlefield.
The 13 finalists sang to a panel of 5 judges. While the judges deliberated, last year's Riverhead Idol winner, Marissa Hewkin, performed and raffles were given out. When the results were in, first place was given to Emma Bernhardt who sang "Black Velvet." Second place went to Dakota Cohen who performed "Movin' Out" and third place went to Savannah Medina.
