Larry Ames is a retired letter carrier, who graduated from Ludington High in 1974.  Larry checked "stand up comedy" off his bucket list, when he participated in the variety show at his RV park in Mesa AZ.  Telling bad jokes and groaners, Larry enjoys the response he gets from the audience.He enjoys golfing, and the local Ludington music scene, and is a LUDROCK board member.Honored and excited to be asked to perform at the Sandcastle talent show, Larry hopes to elicit some chuckles and laughter.

The Custer Bootscooters originated in 1993, when they first started dancing at Johnny’s in Custer, which is where the group name came from. The group performs line and couples dances and have danced in various locations over the years, such as Scottville Optimist Hall, the Eagles in Ludington, and the Rendezvous in Walhalla. The group also danced at the old Elk’s Club, now home to the Sandcastles Children’s Museum. The group enjoys sharing their love of dance with the community, participating in the county fair and at local assisted living centers. They currently dance every Thursday night at the Church of Christ on Fountain Road in Ludington. All levels of dancers are welcome and the age range varies from 10 years old to 80 and beyond. While the COVID-19 Pandemic affected member numbers, the group is quickly building back up and is always looking to recruit new dancers.

The Custer Bootscooters are grateful for the opportunity to show that we can all come together and have fun through dance and raise money for a wonderful cause.

Wesson is in the 7th grade and planned to play the piano, but unfortunately is currently in a cast. Wesson has had 9 arm surgeries and is due to have his 10th surgery this June.

He has a rare birth defect in both arms and piano playing has been great physical therapy for him. Luckily, piano playing isn’t his only talent. He has a great sense of humor too!

Although he is a little nervous to perform, he is excited to see the other acts. In addition to Ludington’s Got Talent, Wesson has performed in a number of his middle school plays and performed a comedy act at Little Big Shots in Manistee.

Outside of performing he enjoys running cross country and track.

Adison is a junior in high school and loves to sing and act. You may have seen her perform before at LACA Girls Rock or as Matilda in Matilda the Musical at the Ramsdell Theater. She also played young Allison in Fun Home at West Shore Community College.

Besides performing, Adison also is all conference for cross country and the 3200m run in track. She is also a member of the National Honors Society and a HG Bacon Academic Excellence Award recipient for the past two years in a row. In her spare time she loves to crochet and read.

She is really looking forward to performing in Ludington’s Got Talent and seeing all the other talent Mason County has to offer!

Penny is 12 years old and loves to draw, be creative with clay, markers and all sorts of media. Penny has taken piano lessons at River City Music School in Manistee with Carrie Selbee since she was 6 years old. She will perform “Another Love,” by Thomas O’Dell.

Penny is also an excellent swimmer who has been competing with the Manistee Swim Team since she was 6 years old.

Penny is excited to share her talent with the Ludington community. She has many roots in Ludington through her grandmother, Sharon Muszynski (VanderVeer) and her Aunt Karen Haldeman. Her Aunt Karen will also be performing with her dance troop: The Custer Bootscooters.

Originally from the Philippines, Neysa came to Ludington almost 4 years ago to marry a local and the love of her life.

She has been singing since she was a teenager and studied music in college at the University of the Philippines. She was also chosen to be part of the University of the Philippines Concert Chorus which allowed her to travel with them for seven months to Europe and the USA in 1990. After graduating from college she sang with her church choir and several local semi-professional choirs in Manila. Some of the highlights of her choral career is being part of the chorus for Andrea Bocelli for his Manila tour; and the chorus for a series of fundraising concerts headlined by Lea Salonga and some of the cast of Miss Saigon and Les Miserables together with composers Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg.

Currently, She is a member of the West Shore Community College Concert Choir and sometimes sings with the United Methodist Church of Ludington. Other than singing, She loves to cook for her family, play with her huskies, read, swim, go scuba diving, travel, play pool, and spend fun times with friends.

Fun Fact: When she was on tour with her university choir, they got to sing to Queen Elizabeth.

When asked “How do you feel about performing in the Ludington's Got Talent Fundraiser?” Neysa said, “I feel excited and honored to be part of this event and hope we raise lots of money!”

72 years young, John Reed’s love for music and performing on stage started in high school.

John performed in plays and musicals in Benton Harbor/St. Joseph, Michigan during high school, while attending Lake Michigan Community College, and civic theaters in that area.

Years later after moving to Ludington John performed in numerous musicals and plays at West Shore Community College, Historical Ramsdell Theater, and with the Lake Forest Performing Arts Company.

A few of his favorite musicals include Annie Get Your Gun, Godspell, Anything Goes, Little Shop of Horrors, Leader of the Pack and Barum.

For about 10 years he and 4 other local musicians performed at local venues in the group called Fine Wine Reduction.

He retired from teaching in Ludington Schools after 30 plus years.

Since retiring he's volunteered with various groups and began taking piano lessons again. He discovered his new love Pickleball 10 years ago. Piano and church choirs is mostly how he gets his music fix these days. He is excited about singing a duet with Bruce Rillema in the show tonight.

Bruce will be singing with John Reed.

Outside of performing with John, he enjoys pickleball and home improvement.

Bruce has lived in Ludington since 1977 having moved here from the outskirts of Grand Rapids. He is semi retired but still working.

As far as singing it’s something John talked him into 30 years ago with Lake Forest Performing Arts.

He is always a little nervous to perform but is ready to give it his all!

Sebastian is a 4th grader at Ludington Elementary School, where he loves seeing his friends.

He has been yo-yoing for about a year and had his first competition this past November, where he performed for the first time on a stage. 

When he isn't practicing he's playing soccer in the fall and spring and baseball in the summer. He loves the beach and mountains and can't wait for it to get warm out again. 

Fun fact, he was born in North Carolina and is the only one in his family that is technically from in the south. He moved here in February 2021 with his family. 

Sebastian is a little nervous, but is ready! 

The String A Longs are excited to be a part of Ludington's got Talent. 

They have had the privilege of playing at Sandcastles over the last several years and are happy this fundraiser will benefit them. 

The group started in 2017 when a handful of participants started playing ukulele and lap dulcimer together. 

The group has grown over the years, and now includes Irish whistle, harmonica and percussion. 

Their goal is to spread smiles through their music. 

The group started almost 7 years ago by Meredith Hanson. They've played at Ludrock, on the Badger boat, Sandcastles, and various venues in the Ludington Area. They play music, sing, and have fun all at the same time! Everyone is welcome to join. Call LACA for details.

Devon Padgett is 23 years old, and has been singing for as long as he can remember. He’ll be performing Your Gonna Miss this by Trace Adkins. Devon was born and raised in the great towns of Ludington and Scottville. His hobbies included, collecting, singing, making people laugh and fishing. The reason he loves singing is it brings a passionate side out that he doesn't usually show to the world. It's a very beautiful art form that he performs with a lot of pride. Fun fact is he is a writer. He is very excited to be part of something so dear to his heart having enjoyed Sandcastles as a kid. His only hope is that himself and the other performers can raise enough money so Sandcastles can continue to bring joy and fun to the kids of Ludington Michigan for many more years to come.