8-year-old Crystal Lake girl, 15-year-old Cary boy to compete in statewide talent show

An 8-year-old Crystal Lake girl and a 15-year-old Cary boy will compete this January at the state talent show in Springfield after taking first in their divisions this summer at the McHenry County Fair Talent Contest.

Autumn Sky Braxton, 8, of Crystal Lake, took first in the junior division with her performance of “Friends from the Other Side,” a song from the Disney movie “The Princess and the Frog.”

Autumn attends Coventry Elementary School in Crystal Lake and studies voice with Brandy Braxton at Victory Voice in Cary, according to a news release.

In second place came Ayanna Sidi, 11, of Barrington Hills, and in third came Noah Rea, 11, of Crystal Lake, event organizer Kathy Thomas said.

In the senior division, 15-year-old guitarist Jordan Mackintosh won first place with his renditions of Van Halen’s “Eruption” and “You Really Got Me.”

Jordan attends Prairie Ridge High School in Crystal Lake, according to the release. He studies voice with Braxton at Victory Voice in Cary and electric guitar with Eric Justen at Dr. Woods Guitar Emporium in Fox River Grove.

In second place came Alexis Schwartz, 17, of McHenry, and in third came Rieley Cash, 15, of Huntley

The talent contest took place on Aug. 6 as part of the McHenry County Fair. The McHenry County Fair has been hosting annual talent shows for 40 years, according to the release.

The first place winners in both senior and junior divisions will compete with all the other Illinois county fair talent contest winners on Jan. 16 in Springfield at the annual Illinois Association of Agricultural Fairs convention.

They also took home $200, according to the release.