Curtain up! Light the lights! Put on your dancing shoes and hit the “Record” button on your phone’s video!

Announcing the Star Tribune Amateur Talent Contest.

Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic and the cancellation of this year’s Minnesota State Fair, the venerable and popular State Fair Amateur Talent Contest has been put on hold.

So we’re going to try to fill the void by holding a virtual amateur talent contest.

To enter: Upload an original one-minute video of yourself or your group’s act to www.startribune.com/fairtalent by midnight Aug. 16.

We’ll put the best videos on the Star Tribune website starting Aug. 31, where you can vote for your favorites throughout the week. Winners will be announced Sept. 4.

Remember, we’re a family newspaper and we’re aiming to showcase amateurs. Beyond that, anything goes. We’d like to see hip-hop and opera, bagpipes and ballet, bird calls and baton twirlers.

Questions? E-mail staff writer Richard Chin.