With talent to spare

CORNWALL — As Cornwall talent shows go, the 13th annual event (held as always on the day after Thanksgiving) will be memorable for all the talent of the performers — and just as much as for the uniqueness of those performers.

That’s one great thing about this show. One never knows which fabulously talented, and often already famous, performers will hit the stage, proudly noting Cornwall as their home, or as a place to which they are deeply connected.

Another great thing is that it’s held on one of the most relaxed days of the year, for those not lured to the mall. There is no Black Friday in Cornwall, and for the audience — which always includes visiting extended families — it’s like a townwide reunion.

But the best thing of all is that proceeds from the always-packed house benefit the Cornwall Library. Performers, crew and a host of others providing support do it all for free.

Roger Reed, known locally to many as Roger the Jester, is a former town resident with a current family connection (these things must be noted). As he had done in recent years, he emceed the show. This year he delighted the audience with mimed antics and verbal comedy that is not normally a part of his performances.

Then he wrapped up the show with a tune played on a turkey baster.

There was music with grassroots style from Still, the Homegrown Band and from a family band called Firefly. In the opposite direction was an aria from “The Marriage of Figaro� by India Laughlin, with Anne Chamberlain on piano. In between, young Ethan Jadow, (without his singing sister, Lucie, who was not able to make it as planned), wowed with an original piece on his Fender Stratocaster.

Larry Stevens performed, from memory, a chilling recitation of Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven.â€� Fred Thaler offered a  “Hello to Some of Shakespeare’s Women,â€� appearing first as Sir Dignity, in an outlandish getup, and then even more outlandish costuming along with dramatic peeks at the Bard’s female characters.