The Adlev Entertainment Awards ? a black-tie event ? takes place at the weekend.

The organisers of Bless This Little Island have chosen local entertainers from a cross-section of styles to perform at the event.

The event will take under the patronage of Premier Alex Scott and Mrs. Olga Scott in the Princess Room at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess on Saturday evening. Adlev Entertainment Productions organiser Velda Ming said the event will feature the Tony Bari Quartet, vocalist Toni Robinson, singer Dean Ming, Mathew Joseph, Bermuda Idol runner-up Joy Barnum and comedians Nadanja and Jah.

Keevil (The Captain) Burgess will MC.

She said during the event Crystal Awards will be presented to dancer Patricia Gray, Patricia Pogson Nesbitt, Calypsonian Reuben McCoy, night club act The Travellers, Robin Spencer Arscott, John White, Joe Pimental and Derrick (CJ Cousin Juicy) Symonds.

The Outstanding Artist Award will go to James Richardson and Posthumous Awards will be presented to the families of pianist Maude E. Fox and beauty contest promoter Walter (Dickie) Green.

Ms Ming said part of the proceeds raised will go towards the Hubert Smith, Sr. Music Fund, which assists students in the arts.

She said: "Adlev Entertainment Awards is a registered charity and our mission is threefold. We want to give the Adlev Awards to deserving entertainers for their contributions to the industry.

"We will also give to The Hubert Smith, Sr. Music Fund, which was established to assist a student of the arts to further their studies.

"In this way we feel that we will be helping many people. We also want to revitalise the Island's entertainment industry.

"It's quite a job we have given ourselves, but we think that it is worth the effort and we are hoping that we will get as much support from sponsors and from the people of Bermuda as we have in the past."

Ms Ming encouraged everyone to come out to the event to support not only those who will perform, but for those who are receiving awards.

She said: "It is in aid of the Hubert Smith, Sr. Music Fund, which was initially designed for young people who were just studying music, but it has been broadened to encompass the other arts.

"We are not giving scholarships, but we are giving monetary gifts to students in need. The Fund stipulates that they must be in an accredited university or college and must be studying music or one of the arts when they apply. They apply in writing to the Adlev Entertainment Awards, PO Box 557, Warwick."

Organiser Dean Ming said they were planning to make the Adlev Entertainment Awards an annual event.

"The last show was in 2002 and the organisation missed a couple of years," he said, "But now we aim to make it an annual event.

"We really want to expand this venture and enhance it."

Adlev also aims to try to get local entertainment back to what it was in Bermuda.

Mr. Ming said: "Local entertainment has been lost. They bring people from abroad, but they seldom feature their own and so what we are trying to do is to focus on the people that live here so that they can participate in the entertainment.

"Tourists come here looking for entertainment ? local entertainment. They are not looking for what they can find at home.

"We have a lot of talent here, but there is no outlet."

Mr. Ming added that they were hoping to open a venue for local performers to practice and perform.

One of the performers Mathew Joseph, who plays Spanish guitar.

Singer Joy Barnum was looking forward to using her range of talents during the event.

"I am going to sing everything I wanted to sing that doesn't come with a track," she said.

"I am excited to hear that I would be working with Toni Bari, although I had never heard of him before.

"I picked every song that I knew would not be popular enough to buy in stores. I will be singing jazz standards. Mr. Bari and I have mixed up three different versions of 'Summertime' so I can do my classical and he can come in like Louis (Armstrong) and I can be like Ella (Fitzgerald) and end with 'Fantasia'.

Mr. Ming has always been involved as not only an organiser, but also as an entertainer.

"I'm going to be doing some songs from Sam Cooke," he said.

"I do the old school songs. We have a good show form with a variety of entertainers.

"We have been doing these shows since 1991 and we felt we had to do something for the entertainers, as usually the entertainers do it for nothing.

Tickets are $50 and can be purchased at People's Pharmacy and Kit 'N' Caboodle.