Wonderfeet Kids’ Museum to help welcome crowds back to the Paramount Theatre’s stage downtown
Wonderfeet Kids’ Museum, a children’s museum in the heart of downtown Rutland, will help to welcome local events back to The Paramount this fall with its ever- popular Lip Sync Battle returning to the stage Saturday, Sept. 25. As audiences from past years can attest, the talent and creativity displayed on stage at The Paramount Theatre during this live Lip Sync Battle is not to be missed. The event is so popular that even last year’s online-only Virtual Lip Sync Battle raised over $25,000 for Wonderfeet Kids’ Museum.
Teams of local residents will lift spirits and show off our vibrant community with costumes, music and choreography that have to be seen to be believed.
Past Lip Sync Battles have featured teams from the Rutland City Fire Department, the Regional Ambulance Corps, Rutland Regional Medical Center, and area businesses. This year’s event will not only be a major fundraiser for Wonderfeet, but will also be a celebration of downtown, The Paramount, and the resilience of the community.
Wonderfeet is currently looking for teams who are interested in joining this celebratory event. Competing teams will work with a choreographer to pick music and plan out their performance — and no actual singing talent required! Businesses or groups interested in competing or sponsoring a team should contact Danielle Monroe, ed@wkmvt.org.
Team selection is going on now through Monday, Aug. 2. Team applications and details are available online at: wonderfeetkidsmuseum.org/LipSyncBattleApp. Sponsorship is required for all in-person teams, however, please contact the event organizers who can help to find matching sponsors for teams that are unable to self-sponsor.
Eric Mallete, executive director of the Paramount Theater, and longstanding emcee of the event, is excited to welcome the community back to downtown and in-person events. “Local events are a crucial part of The Paramount’s mission. Not only are they fun and unique to the personality of Rutland, but they are a way for The Para- mount to support our local community. We’ve helped Wonderfeet raise over $75,000 in their first three years of presenting this great, new Rutland tradition, and we expect this year’s event to be just as successful.”
Danielle Monroe, executive director of Wonderfeet echoed Malette’s excitement. “We look forward to this event every year, but none more so than this year. We’re so eager to honor the work that the museum was able to do during the pandemic and encourage everyone to join us in celebrating the reopening of the Paramount and all of downtown Rutland!”
All proceeds will benefit the Wonderfeet Kids’ Museum, located at 11 Center Street in Rutland, and their operations including outreach and ongoing exhibits and programs to meet the needs of the community.
Virtual submissions
Building off the success of last year’s Virtual Lip Sync Battle, Wonderfeet is also offering families and groups unable to participate in the live event a chance to join in an online event in the week leading up to the Paramount show. Just like last year, videos can be submitted to a voting website where the public will be able to view, vote, and donate for their favorite online submission starting Sept. 18. The music video that collects the most votes will have their submission shown on the big screen at The Paramount during the live event!
For more information call 282-2678 or visit WonderfeetKidsMuseum.org.
