After weeks of practice, the Grand Valley State University a cappella group Midnight Snack appeared on the Grand Rapids station WZZM 13’s program, Take 5, on Jan. 15. The group made a positive appearance early in 2013 and was then invited back to promote the upcoming event, A Capell-Off.

“We are so lucky to have this opportunity to sing for this commercial and to later perform at the event,” said Kaitlyn Szostak, Midnight Snack member.

The Take 5 appearance served as an advertisement for A Capell-Off, a collegiate competition for male, female and mixed-voice a capella groups in Michigan and throughout the Midwest. The fourth annual A Capell-Off will be hosted by the GVSU Mu Alpha chapter of the all-women music fraternity, Sigma Alpha Iota, in conjunction with Allendale High School Ceglarek Fine Arts Center (CFAC). It will take place Jan. 18 at 7 p.m. at the CFAC. Admission for the event is $10 for adults and $5 for students.

To further spread the word about the competition, Midnight Snack performed Wednesday following an interview with CFAC Special Event Coordinator Jim Crawley.

“[It] increased the awareness of the event in the community,” Crawley said. “Anything we can do to get the word out.”

Leading up to the performance, the ladies of Midnight Snack worked to put together a set list.

“We had quite a few songs to choose from,” member Holly Malinoski said. “We can’t use some of them because of rights.”

The ladies of Midnight Snack, sporting their GVSU garb, concluded the segment by singing “Accidentally in Love” by Counting Crows.

Although the students ran into problems regarding the set list, the usual stage fright didn’t interfere with their Take 5 performance. Members of the group found that performing for a camera is different than performing in front of an audience.

“When it’s live, you get the rush of people in the audience,” Malinoski said. “It feels more like a practice than a performance.”

On Saturday, Midnight Snack will take the stage against GVSU’s Euphoria and After School Special, Central Michigan University’s Central Harmony, Hope College’s 12th Street Harmony, Michigan State University’s Ladies First and Capital Green, and Western Michigan University’s The Bronchords, as well as a group from Albion College. Each group will perform a set of songs for a group of judges in order to snag first place in different categories such as best female group, best male group and best mixed group. The evening will also include a special performance by Ann Arbor Skyline High School’s Skyline Blues.

“It is a family and friend event at a low cost,” Crawley said. “It is something that is open to all ages.”

The A Capell-Off competition kicks off a series of performances for Midnight Snack this semester. The group plans to sing at the Helen Devos Children’s Hospital, a retirement home, a Griffins game and its end-of-the-year concert. Each performance is an opportunity for the ladies of Midnight Snack, and the performance on Take 5 was an especially useful one.

“It opened an opportunity to get out to Grand Valley, to West Michigan and maybe the United States even,” said Szostak.