Cousins tops at ‘Quest’

Twenty singers competed in “Quest for the Best” last night but it was cousins Brittany Hayes, 23, and Larissa Desrosiers, 16, who battled it out in a sing-off for the grand prize.
Singing “Alone” by Heart, which earlier had been divided up into two parts, it was Hayes who captured the “Quest” crown and the $1,000 top prize.

The annual competition was divided into two rounds, with each round having a first- and second-place winner.
After all of the prizes were given out, the two first-place winners then sang with each other in a final “Battle Round” for the grand prize.
“I’m just floating on Cloud 9 right now,” said Hayes, a previous “Quest” champ who earlier sang “Walking in Memphis” by Marc Cohen to win the $500 first-place prize in her round.
Desrosiers, meanwhile, captured top honours in her round with “Dog Days are Over” by Florence and the Machine.
“I was so shocked. I didn’t really expect to win,” she admitted.
“I just love playing with ‘The Faculty’ and I just want to get as much experience as I can get,” added Desrosiers, who was competing in “Quest” for the fourth time.
“The Faculty,” consisting of Chris Denby, Rob Donaldson, Jim Newman, and Ryna Strachan, plays the back-up music for the singers.
This year’s judges were Christa Pare, Lindsay Hamilton, and John Dutton.
Second prize in Round 1 ($300) went to Dylan Ossachuk, singing “In the Air Tonight” by Phil Collins.
Donny Hollywood won the second prize in Round 2 with “Another Thing Coming” by Judas Priest.
The People’s Choice awards for Round 1 and 2 (worth $200 each) went to Ossachuk and Joleigh Hayes, respectively.
Alyx Barnard won the show sponsor award ($100) while the rookie award ($100) went to Trevor Barker, who sang an original song.
The audience response award ($250) went to Donny Hollywood.
The show, which ran until 11 p.m. at the Ice For Kids Arena in conjunction with the Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship, drew a big crowd.
“We’re so thrilled with how ‘Quest for the Best’ went tonight,” enthused Sarah Hallikas, tourism and events co-ordinator for the local Chamber of Commerce, which organized the event.
“The band was amazing, all of the talent was astounding, and the crowd was fabulous.
“We had a great big crowd, and they were loud and they were cheering, and we are just so pleased with how it went,” Hallikas added.
In related news, the Fort Frances Dental Centre held the draw for its annual Disney World trip during “Quest.”
It was won by Jyllian Westover, 12.