Portage youth well-spoken at festival

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This article was published 10/06/2015 (4123 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Portage la Prairie was well represented at this year’s Provincial Music and Arts Festival with seven competitors, two of whom won top honours for public speaking.

The provincial arts festival was held from May 22 to 24 at the Canadian Mennonite University in Winnipeg with winners from 26 festivals held across Manitoba participating.

Arishya Aggarwal, 12, earned the top spot in the Grade 7 to 9 public speaking competition with a speech on teamwork, and received the Evergreen Festival of the Arts scholarship.

“I tried my best and I wanted to win,” said the Grade 7 student, who attends École Arthur Meighen School in Portage la Prairie. She also recently won first place in the provincial French Concours d’art Oratoire which require participants to recite a poem in French.

Aggarwal said she’s developed a passion for public speaking and intends to continue developing her skill.

Tessa Lupkowski, 16, took first place for public speaking in the Grade 10 to 12 class, and received the Larry Moore Scholarship.

The St. Claude Collegiate Grade 10 student spoke about LGBTQA*(Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, Questioning, Allied and others) and said she learned a lot from the research she did for her five-minute speech.

Other Portage la Prairie youth who competed in the provincial festival are Madison Bueckert in Advanced Piano, Gareth Rice in Intermediate Piano, Emilee Martel in Junior Piano, Daria Hofer in Grade 7 to 9 Poetry and Prose, Rice and Hadassah Maendel in Grade 10 to 12 Poetry and Prose. Rice placed third in Intermediate Piano.

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— Staff