Submitted by Brad Gerbel
Last Saturday, the annual Coronado’s Talent contest was held in the auditorium at Coronado High School. The event, now in its fourth year, is a labor of love of Alan Kinzel, local realtor and all-around good guy. Generously underwritten by local philanthropist Donna Salof, all proceeds raised at the event go to the Coronado Schools Foundation.
Those who purchased VIP tickets were welcomed at a reception at the Spreckels Center and treated to food and drink donated by local restaurants. The biggest VIP of them all, the San Diego Chicken, was in attendance and took photos with the guests.
Upon entering the theater, guests purchased snacks from Jack and Grace Elardo, two Coronado kids that operate “Jack and Grace’s Pop-Up Stand” and raise money throughout the year for Coronado Schools Foundation, while they learn about entrepreneurship. The Elardo kids raised over $1,000 for the CSF on talent show night at their snack bar!
The talent portion of the evening was hosted by emcees Alan Kinzel and Larry Delrose who both did a great job of introducing the twenty-one acts in the show, over the course of three hours.
The acts were amazing: a 12-year-old singer, a sailor who is a budding comedian, a Coronado resident who is battling a terminal illness, an 11-year-old piano player, dancers, a contortionist, and a country singer, just to name a few. Following each act, the panel of judges gave feedback to each act; all of the feedback was positive and each act beamed when listening to the judges. Three hours flew by as the audience was treated to one great performance after another.
As the evening came to a close and awards were handed out, emcee Alan Kinzel shocked the audience when he announced that someone in the audience donated $10,000 during the event. Way to go, Bob!
I salute Alan Kinzel for all of his hard work to create such a fun evening for the people of Coronado, while raising important dollars for CSF. The world needs more Alan Kinzels!
Brad Gerbel
