A new, local talent show will give community members a chance to show off their skills while also raising money for early learning programs for children.

The competition, named LaGrange Has Talent, is being organized by the Magnolia Society United Way Women’s Leadership Council and will benefit BLOCKS, or Babies Learning On Course for Kindergarten Success.

The competition is for anyone with a permanent or temporary residence in Troup County and is for all types of acts, including singing, acting, dancing, comedy, musical acts, gymnastics and magic. The acts can be single or group acts and must be family friendly.

After a voting process, the final 10 acts will perform at a final event at Troup High School’s Performing Arts Center on Nov. 16. The overall winner of the event will get $2,000.

The contest starts on Sept. 1, when participants can first submit their video.

The submission deadline is Sept. 30, so there is plenty of time for anyone who wants to compete to get their act ready.

To enter, contestants must pay a $50 application fee and provide video of their act, which must not go over three minutes in length. Videos can be delivered to the United Way on a flash drive or uploaded onto the LaGrange Has Talent website.

“We are real excited about it. People have already been tagging our friends in our post,” said organizer Stephanie Preston, who works as a volunteer with the United Way of West Georgia.

Online voting will be held from Oct. 1-Oct. 30 as contestants try to qualify for the top 10. The cost per vote is $1, with the proceeds going toward BLOCKS.

There is no limit on the number of votes that a person can cast.

The top 10 vote getters will perform on stage Nov. 16, with the overall winner being determined by a panel of judges.

The event replaces Merry Market, which had been held for the last six years. Preston said she appreciates everyone who shopped at Merry Market, a Christmas themed event in the fall, over the past few years.

“We did it for six years but we were not including a large enough segment of the community because it was a shopping event,” Preston said.

“It was great, it was fun. We had vendors from out of town and they loved it, but we wanted to reach more people. We wanted to bring in a fundraiser that was more accessible to Troup County.”

Tickets will be sold for the on-stage finals. For the compete list of rules and information on how to participate, visit lagrangehastalent.com or go to the Facebook page LaGrange Has Talent.