Zak trumpets way to Talent Show win

A Grace Academy alumnus showed his jazz chops June 13 during the Strawberry Festival Talent Show.

Trumpeter Joe Zak wowed the Talent Show crowd when he performed his rendition of “Misty” on the stage at the Marysville-Pilchuck High School Performing Arts Center. His performance earned him best overall winner of the annual contest.

“I honestly thought it would be a great representation of this festival,” Zak said of his choice of music. He added the piece he chose channels a fun and joyful spirit, which is similar to the Strawberry Festival.

Zak, who graduated from Grace Academy in 2016, will enter his senior year in the fall at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn. He is majoring in Music Business and he hopes to someday own a jazz club. He’s played the trumpet since he was 8-years-old and has performed throughout Tacoma and Seattle.

He was one of 23 acts performing June 13 with an 85-year age range between the oldest and youngest performers. Several dance teams, pianists, duos, and soloists performed in front of a panel of five judges consisting of business and community leaders from the Marysville area.

Everybody took time to sing “Happy Birthday” to Xander Corbett, who turned 17 on Thursday. He celebrated the day by performing “Always You,” which he also wrote, during the annual event. Marvin Fritze first participated in the Talent Show in 1999. This year he performed his original song “It’s Rainin’ Everywhere but here."

The Talent Show kicked off with Strawberry Festival Royalty, talent show judges and children taking the stage to dance the “Cupid Shuffle.”

With earning Best Overall award, Zak won a basket full of merchandise from the Quil Ceda Walmart. In addition, he also participated in the Strawberry Festival Grand Parade that took place Saturday night.

Talent Show organizer Marcy Giesler was impressed with the performers who participated in Thursday’s event

“It gets better and better every year,” Giesler said.