By Michael Pedro
The annual winter event held by Golden Bear Television, or GBTV, GBears’ Got Talent, is back this Saturday, November 23rd, at 7 p.m. Every year, around ten talented individuals from the student population take to the stage in Rivers Memorial Hall’s auditorium to express their talent to both the attendees of the event and a panel of judges. Past notable acts include Jordan Tomczak, who sang her way to victory last year, and Spencer Laframboise, who won in 2022 with a very engaging magic card trick. According to GBTV’s president, Nate Miller, this year will have many similar acts to years past. “This year’s acts include singing, guitar, piano, and close-up magic,” he said. The acts aren’t the only drawing point to the show, either. Miller notes that there will also be “free food… and Bear the [comfort] dog!” On top of that, comedian Katie Kusiciel will be the host of this event for the first time.
GBears’ Got Talent is one of Western New England University’s more recently adopted traditions, but its origins are unlike most other events on this campus. “This event came about as an evolution from an event called The Golden Voice, which was a talent show like GBears’ [Got Talent], except it was exclusive to singing,” Miller said. “Due to COVID, GBTV canceled the 2020 Golden Voice show. This allowed the E-Board at the time to re-evaluate the contest. Returning in 2021, they rebranded as GBears’ Got Talent, opening the contest up to all acts.” Now in its fourth year, the event seeks to continue to showcase student talents to the campus, being a fun show all can enjoy. If you can’t make it to the live show, tune into the live stream on GBTV’s official YouTube channel, “GBTV WNEU”.
