Singer-songwriter shines at Juan De Fuca Fest

College’s Hadassah Winters captivates the crowd with two original songs at the Juan De Fuca Festival of Arts

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Hadassah Winters performing “Bittersweet” at the Juan De Fuca Festival – Photo by Mike Drake

By Mike Drake

Effervescent songwiter Hadassah Winters walked on to the stage at the Juan de Fuca Festival of the Arts (JDFFA), sat down in front of an electric keyboard, and sang two original songs to a crowd of almost 100 patrons.

Winters is an 18 year old high school student, part of the Running Start program, and she is graduating from Peninsula College June 18 with an Associates of Arts Degree.

Winters performed in Feb. at Peninsula’s Got Talent, and won first place.

The prize was a $500 scholarship and a slot to perform at the JDFFA.

Winters sang “The Jump Rope Song” first, with her friend Daniel Fink playing an acoustic guitar.

After they finished “The Jump Rope Song,” Winters talked to the audience for a few minutes and then performed her song that won the talent show, “Bittersweet”.

The audience listened intently as Winters commanded her voice like a pro.

She hit every single note with the precision of a marksman.

As her performance came to a close and the last line of her song was finished, the crowd erupted with applause and many audience members rose to their feet

“I’m graduating in 18 days, and that’s terrifying,” Winters said “I’m going to be on the East Coast for college, farther away from my parents than I’ve ever been.”

“I’ve learned alot at PC, and there are definitely things I’m going to miss, but at the same time I’m ready to move on.

“I know there’s a lot of good things ahead,” she said.

Winters is moving to Charlotte, N.C. to attend Gardner-Webb University this Fall. She plans to major in Global Studies with a concentration in Intercultural Studies.

You can view “The Jump Rope Song” at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYQ3wx0LUlo