Worldwide Talent Contest applications due by Oct. 26

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RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFPN) --  If you have talent, the Air Force has a place for you to showcase it -- the Worldwide Talent Contest -- and applications are due by Oct.. 26. 

This year the contest runs from Dec. 2 to 10, and if you can sing, dance or play a musical instrument, you could find yourself as a member of the Air Force's premier entertainment group, Tops In Blue.

If you can arrange music, arrange transportation, drive a bus or drive others to their full potential, you could also find yourself traveling with Tops In Blue 2008, touring around the world to appreciative, cheering military members stateside and overseas.

But first, you have to apply. Contestants must forward audition tapes directly to Headquarters Air Force Services Agency, Entertainment Branch, in San Antonio. There, a team of entertainment professionals determines suitability for the Worldwide Talent Contest, held annually at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. 

The competition has six main talent categories and is judged by the outgoing Tops In Blue team and the Air Force Entertainment production staff. First place winners received a "Roger," which is similar to an "Oscar," and second place winners receive a slightly smaller "Wilco."

The 2008 Tops In Blue team will be largely filled from Worldwide Talent Contest contestants. Tops In Blue serves as an expeditionary entertainment unit to provide quality entertainment from within Air Force resources for the Air Force family, with priority to Air Force members stationed worldwide at remote and deployed locations, while simultaneously promoting community relations, supporting recruiting efforts and serving as ambassadors for the United States and the Air Force. That's their mission statement. Putting it in reality, Tops In Blue entertains military members and the families in more than 20 countries and at more than 120 locations, including war zones, every year.

Over the years, famous entertainers such as television comedian Jerry Van Dyke, then an airman 2nd class, and impressionist Frank Gorshin, have been members of Tops In Blue. The troupe has appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and provided halftime entertainment at the Super Bowl.

To apply to compete in the Worldwide Talent Contest, visit your local community center and ask for a "Perform Your Duty" audition Kit. The kit contains a computer CD that has everything you need to apply. You can also log on to www.topsinblue.com for more information. If you wish, you can contact the Air Force Entertainment office at 210-652-6566 or DSN 487-6566. 

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