THIS year saw the return of the Young Farmers Cabaret to the Perth Concert Hall for the thirteenth year running, with members performing to another sold out audience on Saturday, February 9.

Eight teams took to the stage in the hope to sing, dance and frolic their way to top place. Introduced by East Region chairman Michael Rattray, the teams consisted of Bathgate JAC, Bell Baxter ADS, Brechin YFC, East Fife JAC, Forfar JAC, Kinross JAC, Peeblesshire JAC, and Perthshire District. Judging the acts were the trio of Katherine Marr, Margaret Bryson and Alex Marshall.

Eleven members from Ettrick and Lauderdale JAC opened up the show with a routine from their district Cabaret competition, treating the crowd to a colourful and energetic group dance.

Reigning supreme on the night and taking home the BP Farm Service perpetual trophy with 89 points was East Fife JAC and their production of “Bad Habits” produced and choreographed by Anna Dickinson and David Smout. The act saw the cast dawn their habits and head to the infamous Britains Got Talent studio to live out their singing dreams, where they come across some well-known faces.

Securing second place with 87 points was the team from Bell Baxter ADS with their performance “There’s No Place Like Aus” produced by Jacqui Brand. Soaring into third place with “Let Me Be Your Teddy Boy” was Forfar JAC. Produced by Alison Beattie and choreographed by Nicola Beattie and Laura Farquhar, this club narrowly missed out on second place by one point scoring 86. Beth Dandie from Forfar JAC received the trophy for best act out with the winning team for her outstanding singing performance, with the cast of Perthshire District claiming the best comedy act certificate for their hilarious miscommunication between phone calls.

Closing the evening with a brilliant dance routine from their Spotlight concert was Carluke YFC from the West Region. The act certainly kept our audience entertained while our judges were busy finalising the results.

Our thanks must also go The Perth Concert Hall staff, raffle donators, audience, East Region district stewards for all their assistance and of course the eight outstanding acts which entertained us all through the evening.

The notorious dance that follows the competition was held at The Bank Nightclub, Perth, where over 400 members arrived to celebrate the evening together.

Regional chairman, Michael Rattray, commented: “It was an absolute delight to witness the exceptional talent and real dedication displayed on stage at Perth, the audience certainly got a treat. It’s almost overwhelming to see the passion shown from each club, throughout rehearsals and carried through to the final act. The night would not have been possible without the hard working team of backstage crew, staff, stage managers, stewards and clubs for putting in such great effort to make the night a success. A huge thank you must go to all for their help and support”.