Area residents will get an opportunity to demonstrate their vocal talent Saturday when the Knights of Columbus Council 898 hosts “Karaoke Knights” at the KC Hall, 310 Fisher Ferry Road, starting at 6 p.m.

“We’re doing this as a fundraiser,” program coordinator Michael Woodrick said. “The doors will open about 6 p.m. and the karaoke will begin about 7, and we’ll continue until about 10 or 11 p.m.”

There is no admission to the program. A snack bar will offer hamburgers, hot dogs, pulled pork sandwiches, fries, nachos and soft drinks for sale.

“I have a database of songs and I thought it would be fun to invite people from around the area and from area churches to come in and have a good time; just have a good fun-filled family night,” Woodrick said of the idea behind the program.

Woodrick, who said he has in the past done karaoke programs for several businesses, said he has been collecting songs and there are other songs online the Knights can draw from.

He said the KCs put placed a post about the event on the council’s website and it has drawn about 5,000 page views.

“We just want people to come out and enjoy themselves and have a good time,” he said.

According to the website Howtokaraoke.com., Karaoke is believed to have originally come from Japan and simply refers to an amateur singer singing along to instrumental music.

A Japanese entertainment venue invented the word karaoke after its orchestra went on strike and a machine was used to play the music instead and customers were invited to sing instead.

Karaoke is derived from two Japanese words: “Kara” comes from the word “karappo,” which means empty or void, and “Oke,” comes from the word “okesutra” which means orchestra.