Annual Bona Vista talent show returning to pre-COVID excitement

Dec. 17—Audience members filled the auditorium at Bona Vista on Friday afternoon. Crowding along the double doors, members of the Kokomo Fire Department watched the show.

Bona Vista's annual Christmas talent show featured 33 acts — a mixture of solo and ensemble performances — that were invariably met with cheers of encouragement and support.

Fire Chief Chris Frazier explained the talent show was started decades ago. Each year, he explained, members of the fire department hang out with Bona Vista's child clients, then return for a lunchtime party in the afternoon with Bona Vista adult clients.

In the past few years, Frazier said, the annual celebration shrank in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Friday afternoon was a step toward returning the holiday party to its former stature.

Beckoning toward Andrew Dulmes, who is relatively new to the fire department, Frazier explained the department has recruited a noticeable amount of young firefighters in the past three years.

"I've kind of run this for the last 15 years," Frazier said, adding that the fire department's responsibilities for the annual show had been appointed to him. "Now it's time to let some of these guys take it over. Their goal is to really build it back up and make it even bigger than it was."

Usually, Frazier said, he emcees the event. But, with Bona Vista employees announcing each performer and a D.J. queuing songs for each performance, he was able to take this year off to simply enjoy the show.

"We're to the point now that most of us know the clientele," Frazier said. "We know what skits they're going to do. We've seen them over and over again, so we have a good idea about what they're planning on doing. The goal is to cut loose and have a good time."

Some members of the fire department participated in the talent show, performing segments of two songs.

The first, Dulmes said, was a rendition of "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year," which ended with a twirling firefighter and was met with laughter.

A second performance from the fire department tried to hype the audience up, Dulmes added, with a cover of an Eminem song.

"It was fun," Dulmes said. "We kind of have a little bit of a plan already of what we want to do next year."

Brianne Boles, president of Bona Vista, explained the partnership with the Kokomo Fire Department started more than 40 years ago.

"The tradition has been going on for a very long time," Boles said. "We're just fortunate that they wanted to give back to our cause. Along the way, there's definitely been firemen who have been touched by what we do, whether that's their child in our services or a family member. But, really, it's one of those out of the kindness of their hearts things that they do for us."

The majority of performances Friday afternoon featured singing from Bona Vista clients. Some of the more confident performers raised their fists triumphantly or danced on stage while covering Christmas and pop songs.

Community members judged the show, picking out the top three performances.

The fire department's Deputy Chief of Operations, Scott Ryckman, was among the group tasked with selecting winners.

"You can tell they put a lot of work into it. All of them do an excellent job every year," Ryckman said.

But, when it came to deciding which performances stood out, he explained, the judges considered who had the most Christmas spirit and seemed to put the most effort into their performance.

A hush fell over the auditorium as Bona Vista's emcee announced it was time to congratulate this year's winners.

The Kokomo Fire Department secured a spot in third place. Following the firefighters, Isaac O.'s performance of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" came in second. Taking the lead, a performance of "Jingle Bells" by Kenny M., Amy A. and Sean K. won first place.

Isaac said it had been a good show. He had been confident going into his performance and was proud of his rendition.

"I feel so happy," Amy said, celebrating after the talent show. Her co-stars chimed in with agreement.

James Bennett III can be reached at 765-454-8580 or james.bennett@kokomotribune.com.