2021 Oratorical Festival

 

With the blessings of His Eminence Metropolitan Nathanael, we are pleased to announce that the 38th Annual Saint John Chrysostom 

Oratorical and Fine Arts Festival will be held virtually on Bright Saturday, May 8, 2021. We are planning a day of spiritual celebration and fellowship for all in virtual attendance.  Please keep in mind the following important dates and information as you begin your preparations:

 

ANTICIPATED VIRTUAL FORMAT

What we envision is having a very small number of Oratorical Committee members at the host parish, Saints Peter & Paul Greek Orthodox Church, 1401 Wagner Road, Glenview, Illinois, 60025, to introduce and judge the Speech and Vocal Solo categories on Bright Saturday. The participants in these categories will speak/sing from their homes or home parishes.  If technology allows, these entries will be presented through a live feed, with all family and friends able to watch.  If not, we will ask the participants to prerecord their entries, and we will present them during a later feed.  As in previous years, the Essay, Poetry and Iconography categories will be judged earlier that week.  After the Speech and Vocal Solo presentations on Bright Saturday, we hope to conclude with a separate virtual Awards Presentation for all five categories. 

 

NEW RULES REMINDER

We are excited to remind our youth that they may participate in as many as two separate events at the Metropolis Festival. Also, the Festival is pleased to offer for a third year the category of Vocal Solo. The guidelines for these changes are contained in the Parish Information Packet here. We hope that these changes will welcome more of our youth to participate in the Festival.  

 

REGISTRATION

Once again, we are asking that each Festival Participant and each Oratorical Chairperson submit their registration forms online through the Google Document links found on the Metropolis website at http://www.chicago.goarch.org/oratorical-festival.  Please note that these forms are different from those found on the Archdiocesan website. 

Participant Registration Form

Parish Chairperson Registration Form

 

We prefer that the Oratorical Chairperson Registration Form be submitted as soon as possible so that we may contact you from time to time with important information. The deadline for submitting the Participant Registration Form is Monday, April 19, 2021. 

SUBMISSION DEADLINES

• All entries for Speech, Essay, Poetry, and Vocal Solo (Vocal Solo requires registration only), both Junior and Senior Divisions, must be submitted no later than Monday, April 19, 2021. These submissions must be sent electronically to [email protected].
• All entries for Iconography, both Junior and Senior Divisions, must be postmarked no later than Monday, April 19, 2021. These submissions must be sent by mail or hand delivery to Saint Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church, 7021-33 Hohman Avenue, Hammond, Indiana, 46324, ATTENTION: Audrey Polite/Oratorical Festival.   

Late submissions in any category will not be judged.