The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Friday October 19, 2007 - 35 Artscene Oakville Beaver · FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2007 35 DEREK WOOLLAM / OAKVILLE BEAVER YOUNG SONGWRITER: Seventeen-year-old Elora Mulligan is the only Canadian finalist in the CosmoGirl Songwriting Contest. The winner is selected by online voting, and Mulligan is looking for all the local help she can get. To listen to her song and vote go to www.cosmogirl.com/entertainment/songwriting-contest-voting-2007. CosmoGirl songwriting contestant needs your vote By Krissie Rutherford OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF tion. Elora Mulligan, 17, is among the top 10 in a contest put on by CosmoGirl magazine, the teen version of the popular women's magazine, Cosmopolitan. The remaining singer / songwriters are from New York, Virginia, Ohio, California, A n Oakville musician is the lone Canadian still standing in a North America-wide songwriting competi- Texas ­ and Ontario. "I think it's kind of cool that I'm the only Canadian ­ I stand out a little more," said Mulligan, smiling. The singers are counting on the public's votes to determine who wins, and as Mulligan writes on her MySpace page, since she's the lone Canuck, "I could really use your help!" The Iroquois Ridge graduate has been singing and playing the guitar for just two years. A year ago, she started writing. "I guess this is all a little surprising the way it's happened, but it feels natural, actually," Mulligan said. "It's just kind of happened really fast." No kidding. The focus for the local teen not too long ago was figure skating. "I wasn't really musical," she explained. An injury and two years later, and Mulligan finds herself not only in the top 10 of a continent-wide competition, but she's also fielding phone calls from a Grammynominated producer in San Francisco and a record label in Australia, both who caught wind of the young musician through her MySpace page. "It was kind of shocking the way this all happened," said her mom, Tammy. "She injured her Achilles heel, so she was told she couldn't skate anymore. She was really depressed about that, but then she just took everything and put it into songwriting. "It was just like that. It was this huge 180 degree change." And once the writing began, Tammy added, "It didn't stop. She just started writ See Young page 38 F R E E P S O R I A S I S I N F O R M AT I O N F O R U M ­ F E AT U R I N G D R . C H A R L E S W. LY N D E Change the way you look at psoriasis. Listen to a LEADING DERMATOLOGIST and get answers to your tough questions about psoriasis. Learn about ADVANCEMENTS IN PSORIASIS TREATMENT and see if you've considered all your options. Talk with other PSORIASIS PATIENTS and look ahead to A NEW ERA of psoriasis control. MONDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2007 · ROYAL BOTANICAL GARDENS CENTRE Registration from 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. Session from 6:30 p.m.- 8:00 p.m. FREE ADMISSION Royal Botanical Gardens Centre (On the border of Burlington and Hamilton) Meeting Room: Auditorium 680 Plains Road West, Burlington, ON SEATING IS LIMITED! REGISTER TODAY Call 1-866-639-1119 or visit www.psoriasisconnections.ca