In an effort to help raise funds to rehabilitate the Southern Cultural Heritage Center’s roof, the foundation is sponsoring a talent competition and the grand prizewinner will walk away with a cash prize of a $1,000.

“Each category winner will also take home a cash prize,” said Stacey Massey, the executive director for the Southern Cultural Heritage Foundation.

The Raise the Roof Talent Search & Competition will hold three preliminary competitions, two semi final competitions and a final round of competition, which will be held at 6 p.m. Sept. 12.

“Contestants will compete in the categories of voice, music, dance, drama, and comedy. The age groups are 12 and under, 13 through18 and adults. The contest is also open to individuals and groups,” Massey said, adding there will be qualified judges for each of the categories.

The deadline to register is Aug. 17, and entry fees are $10 for individuals and $30 for groups of three or more, she said.

Entry forms, parent consent forms and rules and regulation information can be downloaded from the SCHF website, but entry forms must be mailed or delivered to 1302 Adams St.

Tickets to attend each show are $15 for adults, $5 for ages 6 to18 and free for ages five and younger.

The dates of the preliminary competitions begin at 6 p.m. Aug. 22 for the comedy and music categories, 2 p.m. Aug. 23 for the drama and voice categories and 6 p.m. Aug. 29 for the dance category.

“Three finalists will be chosen in each category to move on to the semi-finals.

The comedy, voice and drama semi-finals are scheduled for 6 p.m. Sept. 5 and at 2 p.m. Sept. 6 for the music and dance categories,” Massey said.

All semi-finalists category winners will then compete for the overall grand prize.

For more information, call 601-631-2997 or visit southernculture.org.