From Canton Village Theater: Canton’s International Festival returns to Heritage Park on Saturday, June 17, 2017, from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., during Canton’s 26th Annual Liberty Fest. One of the many featured performances slated to take place at 12:30 p.m. during the International Festival is a special appearance by Soprano Ryan Blankenburg and Tenor Darius Dillard, presented by the Verdi Opera Theatre of Michigan.

Soprano Ryan Blankenburg, currently a sophomore student at The Roeper School in Birmingham, has been a member of the Michigan Opera Theatre Children's Chorus for 5 years. This talented performer has appeared in productions such as La Boheme, Carmen, Turandot, The Magic Flute, The Mikado, and The Very Last Green Thing at the Detroit Opera House. Recently, Blankenburg won the Rochester Tuesday Musicale and the Verdi Opera Theatre of Michigan's Italian Songs and Arias Vocal Competition. In addition to singing, she plays the piano, alto saxophone, drum set, and enjoys songwriting and composition.