From Longfellow to Rollercoasters: Fairfield Library's Talent Show Has it All

Maya Sikka, 8, has never been on a rollercoaster, but you'd never know that from Friday's talent show at Fairfield Public Library.

Maya and her friend Andrea Herrera, 6, sat in chairs in the Children's Library in front of dozens of audience members and pretended they were on a rollercoaster - acting out everything from getting their tickets and the coaster's steep climb to the rapid descents and hairpin turns, and the exhaustion and relief at the end of the ride.

"I've never been on one because I was only 4 the first time my brother and cousins went to Florida," Maya said after the talent show. "I've seen rollercoasters on TV and Playland in Florida."

Maya said she wasn't nervous at all during her pantomime. "I was before I got up, and I wasn't," she said.

Maya's and Andrea's rollercoaster pantomime wasn't the only impressive performance at the talent show - Madison Lee, 10, recited Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's nearly 1,000-word poem "Paul Revere's Ride" entirely from memory.

Madison, a fifth-grader, said her dad memorized "Paul Revere's Ride" when he was in seventh grade and that gave her the confidence to do it too. Madison said it took her about three weeks to memorize the famous poem and that she memorized a paragraph a day, and then spent a week "to perfect it and make sure everything was right."

"I think it was a challenge for me. It just gave me the confidence to memorize other long poems," Madison said.

Madison said she was more nervous at the rehearsal before the talent show than at the actual talent show. "I think I got all my nervousness out at practice. It was great," she said.

Cindy Barich, a children's librarian and emcee at the talent show, was impressed by Madison's performance. "Incredible," Barich said when Madison finished. "I can't even remember my address. That was incredible."

Perhaps the most energetic act at Friday's talent show was Angie Barahana's and Andrea Melgar's dance performance to Miley Cyrus' "I Can't be Tamed."

Angie, 8, said she had a great time dancing with her friend. "I liked that we get an audience and that we get to have fun dancing and showing our talent, showing our talent to other people," she said.

Angie and Andrea, 7. are talent show veterans and said they weren't nervous performing in front of an audience. "We really like dancing. It looks really fun," Andrea said.

Friday's talent show also featured impressive musical performances - Erin McMurray, 9, played "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and "Hot Cross Buns" on the guitar after learning how to play only seven months ago, and Aldo Herrera played "Rock n' Rifter," on the guitar after beginning lessons this week.

"I had a guitar class this week," Aldo said. "We learned a couple of songs, and I picked that one."

Aldo said he wasn't nervous because he had just come from a guitar class 30 minutes before the talent show.

The artist at the talent show was Matt McMurray, 7, who drew "G-Man," a character in a graphic novel. Matt had practiced his craft in the library's cartooning workshop, Barich told the audience.

"This is amazing to me," Barich said as Matt drew G-Man on stage. "That looks just like G-Man."

Barich asked Matt if she could display his drawing in her office, and Matt agreed.

Library patrons normally aren't allowed to play a game of baseball in the library, but the Children's Library made an exception for Neel Sikka, 9, and Chris Yadre, 9, who pantomimed a baseball game in uniform after writing the script for their performance on Thursday.

"I had a fun time making it up with my friend. I like performing in front of people," Neel said afterward.

Barich said the Children's Library holds the talent show every summer and that the library "tries to keep it really loose and comfortable so the kids don't get nervous."

"I give them a lot of credit," Barich said of Friday's performers.