9th Annual Sadie Street Showcase

Marion High School's show choir, "New Creations," emerged victorious at the 9th Annual Sadie Street Showcase, hosted by Anamosa High School. This prestigious event brought together talented show choirs from various high schools, each vying for the coveted top spot. "New Creations" dazzled the audience and judges alike with their exceptional performance, featuring intricate choreography, powerful vocals, and a captivating stage presence. Their dedication to rehearsals and passion for music truly shone through, earning them the well-deserved first-place trophy.

The victory at the Sadie Street Showcase is a testament to the hard work and commitment of the students and their directors. The months of preparation, countless hours of practice, and unwavering support from the Marion High School community have paid off in a big way. The choir's success not only highlights their talent but also brings pride and joy to their school and community. As they celebrate this significant achievement, "New Creations" looks forward to continuing their winning streak and inspiring others with their musical excellence.

A heartfelt thank you goes out to the 16 participating schools, the dedicated judges, directors, stage crew, and volunteers whose hard work and support made this event possible. Your contributions have created an unforgettable experience for everyone involved.

The Sadie Street Showcase was held at AHS on February 1st 2025. It was a big day for anyone who participated, and it is one of the school's biggest funding events. Sadie Street Showcase is a day where show choirs from all over Iowa come and compete to be named Grand Champion and win many other awards, such as Best Vocals or Best Choreography. This year's Grand Champion was Marion High School's “New Creation”, with their show’s theme being "A Place In This World”.

The event lasts all day, with the earliest group arriving at 7:00 AM and the grand champion being named at around 11:00 PM. Groups arrive all throughout the day and perform at different times. Anamosa's own show choir group, Sadie Street Singers does not compete at the showcase, but they do perform an exhibition at the end of the night, right before finalists are given placements. Even though they aren’t competing with the rest of the groups, their performance is still very important to Sadie Street Singers because it shows off their skills and all the hard work they have been putting into their performance.

“It’s definitely very exciting,”  said 9th grader Peyton Werling, when asked how it feels to be up on stage. “For our first competition, it was very nerve-racking, but also very exciting just to see what we have done so far and how much we’ve progressed from the beginning of the year.”

 “I think we are really, really close to having a very competitive and well-put-together show,” says Andrew Eley, choir director at AHS and show choir instructor, when asked about his thoughts on the show earlier this year.

The showcase is not just a place for Sadie Street Singers to show off their skills on stage but off stage as well, along with many other members of the community. Show choir students, along with many who are not in show choir, volunteer to be hosts for other groups. Hosts helped their groups in any way they could. Decorating their rooms to make them feel inspired to do their best, showing them to the performance and critique areas, and cheering them on during performances. Other ways students or community members were able to help during this event were by working shifts in different positions, like the concession stand or running the tables at the entrances. If you are a student who worked at the showcase at any point and are not a part of Sadie Street Singers, you are eligible for silver cord hours, so make sure you fill those out before you forget!

Sadie Street Showcase is a huge event that takes lots of hard work put on by students, community members, teachers, and janitorial staff. All of it is worth it, though, because the event gives off such a good impression of our school and community, and so many people say this is their favourite event to come to! AHS is thankful to be able to put on such an amazing event and hopes to continue the tradition for many years to come!

Finals:

Grand Champion: Marion HS "New Creation"

• Best Vocals

• Best Choreography

• Best Bass Soloist (Jamson Turner)

1st Runner Up: Iowa City HS "4th Avenue Jazz Company"

• Best Band

2nd Runner Up: Liberty HS "Storm"

• Best Treble Soloist (Madeline Austin)

3rd Runner Up: Xavier HS "Xhilaration"

4th Runner Up: Cedar Rapids Jefferson HS "West Side Delegation"

5th Runner Up: Western Debuque HS "5th Avenue"

Mixed Division:

1st: Marion HS "New Creation"

2nd: Center Point-Urbana HS "Summit Street Singers"

• People's Choice Award

3rd: West Delaware HS "WD Forte"