For five decades, the Glenwood Springs Kiwanis Club has offered students all along the valley the opportunity to share their talents and compete for scholarship money with its annual Stars of Tomorrow talent show.

This year, Friday’s talent show will feature 11 acts by students from Carbondale, Glenwood Springs, New Castle and Rifle. The high school performers will be judged for a chance to win a $1,000 Kiwanis scholarship, and two performances from middle school students will not be judged.

“That’ll just give them a chance to be up on stage in front of a lot of people,” said Kiwanis member Clayton Collier. “We want to give the kids a chance to just express some of their talents.”

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Acts include singing, playing an instrument, sharing original songs, dancing and even one monologue. Eliette Rutledge, a 16-year-old junior at Glenwood Springs High School, will be singing and playing piano along to a video she made.

“I love performing any way that I can, and it’s just a really good experience,” said Rutledge, who also performed in 2010, 2011 and 2012. “And I love the people I’m around.”

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Collier said the Stars of Tomorrow talent show fits in with the Kiwanis mission, which is to improve the lives of kids. This could manifest in many ways, from helping to heal iodine deficiency in Africa to offering a few scholarships annually to local students.

“If it’s kid-related, that’s probably where our heart is,” Collier said. “And I think the talent show lets the community see the kids and see some of the talent that’s in our area. We’re pretty blessed to live in a small town that’s got some pretty talented kids.”

Collier has a personal soft spot for Stars of Tomorrow; his daughter won the talent show about 10 years ago.

“For her to be able to go in and compete and to actually win was just a tremendous confidence booster for her,” he said. “And all those parents get to see their kids up there on the stage performing.”

Admission to the talent show costs $8 for adults, $5 for students and $20 for families, and the proceeds will benefit Kiwanis.

“By the time we finish paying for everything, we’ll be able to probably fund that scholarship out of it,” Collier said.

Rutledge said she thinks it’s great that Kiwanis offers this scholarship to students, but she would have auditioned with or without the prospect of winning some college money.

“I just think it’s great that Kiwanis gives students from all along the valley the chance to be heard,” she said.