Open Mic Night returned to the Deptford Public Library Tuesday night and brought the town’s best and brightest out for one night only. From baritones to magicians, the talent level was through the roof.
Kenny Walker Jr. returned to host and brought the house down with his own talented and vibrant slam poetry performance.
The first act to grace the stage was also one of the most memorable – John Kostyal, the self-proclaimed world’s only polka trickster and psychic. He dazzled the audience with his many mind-bending rope tricks, illusions and card tricks. He even managed to freak out some people through his mental manipulations.
He started at a young age by learning tricks from his grandfather like “pull my finger,” which thankfully no one in the audience did.
Another exciting performance was Yvonne Downing, a YouTube-trained hula-hoop dancer, who found the art after her mother became sick and she wanted to find a way to cheer her up.
The performances went well, and Brendan McCarty, the reference librarian agreed.
“I think the event went great!” he said. “I love to see people coming together, that’s really what the library is all about. We like to support our home-grown talent regardless of age, and it’s so good to see the crowd interacting like they did tonight. We can’t wait to do it again soon.”
The host had a similar sentiment.
“I love seeing the young talent. I love seeing the mix of eclectic talent. It’s not too many places you see a hula hoop, a magician, a singer and a poet,” said Walker.
Most of the talents on display were music-based, and each participant got their moment to shine. Nickki Chicolini, a resident of Audubon, covered songs from many famous artists and groups like The Beatles, The Monkees, Tom Petty, and Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Chicolini usually shows off his talents at the Treehouse Coffee Shop & Cafe in Audubon, but he thought he would try out a new crowd in Deptford.
Matthew Miles, a baritone, got the crowd going with his rendition of Justin Turner’s “Long Black Train.”
Anna Mavsock couldn’t wait to show the audience what she was made of. Wearing a pink shirt that said “Strong at Heart” was so true for someone who may not may not be big in stature yet has a voice that can carry out of the room. She sang “Gimme Gimme” from the “Thoroughly Modern Millie” musical.
Christina Tarrach, Mavsock’s cousin, sang a beautiful rendition of the Oscar-winning song “Writing on the Wall” by Sam Smith from the 2015 film “Spectre.” The writing was on the wall that Tarrach had more than love running through the veins of the captive audience that got to listen to her voice.
Also, Rylee Oswald sang “Laughter” and “Hold Me Tight,” two original songs. She shared them with the audience with her trusty ukuleles.
Show your talent at the next Open Mic Night on Tuesday, May 28 from 6 to 8 p.m.
