Lip Sync Battle will benefit WOW Fund

The fourth annual Lip Sync Battle fund-raiser to support people with disabilities will take place Friday, August 17, at the Celoron Legion, located at the corner of Fairmount and Jackson avenues.

The lip-syncing competition is open to anyone. People can participate as solo acts or as a group. The cost to compete is $10 per act. Performers should bring a CD of their music. Acts will be judged on how well they lip sync; the creativity of their performance; and their “WOW” factor. It is common for patrons to tip the contestants as they perform, and the performer earning the most tip money will receive bonus points in the competition.

The first-place act will receive $300, with $125 awarded for second place $75 for third. The winning act also will receive a trophy. People wishing to compete must register in advance by phoning event organizer Marcos Figueroa at 951-6118.

For those who want to attend the Lip Sync Battle but don’t wish to perform, tickets are $5 pre-sale or $10 at the door. Pre-sale tickets are available at The Resource Center’s administrative offices, 200 Dunham Avenue in Celoron, and at the offices of Filling the Gap, Inc., located in the Felice Corporate Center at 92 Fairmount Avenue in Jamestown.

Money raised through the Lip Sync Battle will be donated to the Mark Pacheco WOW (Working on Wonders) Fund. The WOW Fund awards money to people with special needs so they can do things they may not otherwise be able to afford, such as attend a sporting event or a concert.

Mark Pacheco

The fund was created in memory of Mark Pacheco, an employee of The Resource Center who died in 2010 of injuries sustained in an altercation on a Jamestown street. Mark’s family and friends suggested the establishment of the WOW Fund as a tribute to him and to create something positive from his death.

“I took this opportunity to make a bad situation into something I know Mark would love,” said Marcos, Mark’s friend and co-worker. “The money raised goes to individuals with developmental disabilities to grant a wish or a dream that they may have or want but just do not have enough funds.”

The doors open at 7:00, and the show will start at 9:00. Before the competition begins, professional lip-syncing performers Fantasee Island and Jenna Jacobs are scheduled to perform, as is Angel Rodriguez, who won last year’s Lip Sync Battle.

Besides the on-stage entertainment, there will be drawings for dozens of prizes donated by area businesses. The top prize is an eight-hour pontoon boat rental donated by Ashville Bay Marina.

For more information about the Lip Sync Battle, phone Marcos or visit its Facebook event page.

Angel Rodriguez holds his first-place trophy at last year’s Lip Sync Battle. At left are members of the second-place act, Sweaty Leather (Jesus “Tony” Garcia, Andy Horner and Mike Davis), and at right is third-place finisher Justin Thyme. Sweaty Leather, which bills itself as Western New York’s premier Motley Crue lip-synching band, has announced the Lip Sync Battle will be the group’s only stop on its Still Sweatin’ 2018 reunion tour.