“Four guys. Four girls. They’re PRAC-tically famous!” is the catch phrase that was written on the posters publicizing the 2013 Prairie Ridge Awards Ceremony, which attracted an impressive crowd of students wanting to see what their classmates had in store. This annual event sponsored by Student Council featured eight seniors who showcased their talents to win money for donation to a charity of their choosing. Joseph Schneider, Jack Disselhorst, Jimmy Olander, Even Sanchez, Julia Reid, Marisa Gerstbrein, Margaret Schlofner, and Caitlin Scott were chosen to compete this year.
While these ladies and gents performed terrifically, MCs Bij Heydari and Matt Baldocchi really stole the show with their PRAC camp video and other entertaining stunts throughout the evening. Their spontaneous rendition of Kanye West’s “Homecoming” surprised the audience and had everyone cheering. Afterwards, senior Ross Carpenter noted that “the ‘unplanned’ duet with Bij and Matt was one of the best moments of the whole show.”
Several students also participated in the variety show, which had acts that were interspersed between the PRAC performances. Neil Pretkelis, magician, was definitely a crowd favorite. His latest trick, guessing a randomly selected word from a thesaurus, especially impressed and stumped the audience. His assistant, guidance counselor Mr. Brown was equally astounded! “I’ve never seen anything like it,” remarked senior Maddy Riddell, regarding Neil’s sleight of hand. “Where did this guy come from?”
The PRAC contestants began their evening with a group dance number, with some classy moves from the girls and some awkward moves from the guys. Sanchez first entered for this part wearing a cow suit, stirring up much confusion and incredulity from the student body. Later, Alex Koss had the whole theater dancing with his fun, high-energy variety show act.
While everyone waited for the results, the infamous MCs returned to the stage once again for a grape-eating competition. Finally, they announced that Caitlin Scott and Jack Disselhorst were the 2013 winners, and that they would donate their prize money to Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund and Center on Halsted, respectively. Scott had danced a graceful modern piece, and Disselhorst did a hilarious imitation of a listening activity from Spanish class. Pianist Joseph Schneider and singer Julia Reid took the second place awards.
