Saskatoon and Medicine Hat, Alta., cheer on their hometown Idol hopefuls
(CP) – If the pre-show circus is any indication, telephones across Saskatchewan and Alberta should get a pretty good workout on Wednesday night.
With a soulful songstress named Theresa Sokyrka from Saskatoon and Kalan Porter, an angelic-looking teenager from Medicine Hat, set to duke it out in the final of Canadian Idol, more than a few eyes will be glued to the television on the Prairies as the series wraps up. The winner will be announced Thursday night.
“I’m so looking forward to it,” said Betty Stephenson, an 82-year-old Porter fanatic from Medicine Hat.
Stephenson watches each show from the comfort of her recliner then heads straight to the phone and logs as many votes as she can before midnight, when the polls close.
“I had a bridge party planned for that night, but I cancelled it,” she said. “I said I can’t have bridge when I am so interested in Kalan.”
In Medicine Hat last weekend, fans waited in line overnight for tickets to watch the airing of the final episode live at the local arena.
People drive around the city with Vote 4 Kalan signs plastered to their cars and the daily paper, the Medicine Hat News, plans to print two special souvenir editions to commemorate the final show.
The News held a search for the ultimate Idol fan and some of the responses were downright bizarre.
One fan claimed to witness her friend kissing a picture of Kalan so many times that she faded the ink from his lips.
Another fan admitted making a five-hour trip to British Columbia where there were more free phone lines so she could vote for her Kalan.
In Saskatoon, the city has officially dubbed August and September as Theresa Sokyrka Months.
When the Saskatoon StarPhoenix ran a story under the headline Theresa’s Bubble May Soon Burst, it prompted a letter from at least one angry fan.
“I was dismayed to say the least,” the woman wrote. “Theresa is a phenomenal talent and we are fortunate to call her our own.”
Nick Hartle runs the Odeon Event Centre, a renovated theatre that has been showing the Idol episodes to more than 500 people each night they are broadcast.
Hartle said the crowd has enjoyed following the ups and downs of Sokyrka’s run at the title. He is expecting a full house Wednesday night.
“It’s mass hysteria,” Hartle said. “It’s been quite a ride, a lot of fun.”
Even Saskatchewan Premier Lorne Calvert is rooting for Saskatoon’s favourite singer and plans to attend the taping of the final show in Toronto.
“She has served as an ambassador for this province for many months now,” Calvert said. “I would just love to be there.”
The hype has stretched resources in both communities.
After one of the more recent episodes, Saskatchewan’s telephone company, SaskTel, reported logging a million calls. There are fewer than a million people in the province.
In Alberta, Telus reported logging about 90,000 calls from Medicine Hat after the quarter-finals. The population of Medicine Hat is only 45,000.
All the support has not been lost on the Idol hopefuls.
“I feel such warmth coming from home,” Sokyrka said.
“It’s really hard to know what is going on in Saskatoon, but my parents and my friends let me know all the time. It’s pretty incredible to receive that much support from your hometown.”
Porter, 18, said it has been strange going from being a small-town kid to teenage heartthrob, but he has enjoyed it.
“It’s really cool to have that support and I am really flattered by it,” he said. “All the girls have just been so great and I really appreciate it.”
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