This weekend marks the end of the 86th Varieties. The contestants for the finals will be performing Friday, Feb. 24 and Saturday, Feb. 25.

Varieties Semi-Finals took place two weekends ago, where 7 Vignettes and 7 pairings competed using their onstage talent. A panel of judges then determined which 4 vignettes and 4 pairings would move on to finals.

The four vignettes competing in Varieties Finals are magician Michael Oz, the band The Triggered Snowflakes, magician Christian Manahl and singer and Rachel Pollastrini with guitarist Parker Reed.

Each vignette will produce a slightly different act than they performed at Semi-Finals, which they must perform in under ten minutes.

“My finals performance will be a combination of both new and old magic I have done for Varieties,” said magician Michael Oz. “I have taken into consideration the crowds favorite tricks as well as a couple newer things.”

More stress is put on the vignettes; they only have two weeks to come up with a new performance for Finals as opposed to the months of practice they had for Semi-Finals, while the pairings will give the same performance.

“There is a lot of pressure to bring a whole new set that will both fool and entertain the crowd, so I am looking forward to it,” Oz said.

The pairings feature twenty-minute, mini-musicals. These include original acting, sets, writing and covers of famous songs with new lyrics that fit the story.

The four pairings that will be performing in Finals are Pairing G’s “Night at the Museum,” Pairing F’s “Not a Fairytale,” Pairing E’s “Villains InCorpseOrated” and Pairing D’s “Theo: A Legend in Progress.”

While the vignettes come up with new performances for Finals, the pairings perform their same act again, which requires a lot of practice to sharpen up every aspect of the show.

“We made sure we were working the entire time, putting in a lot more effort and focusing on the details,” said Kara Masteller of Pairing E’s Villains InCorpseOrated.

In the end, a panel of judges will determine two winners, one vignette and one pairing. For many of the competitors, however, it’s not all about winning.

“Of course we’d love to win, That’d be great,” Masteller said. “But what we want to stress more than anything is that this is a fun activity.”

Masteller believes there are far more important things in Varieties than just winning.

“My favorite outcome of varieties has been the friendships I’ve made,” she said. “I met some of my best friends through this organization.”

Varieties Finals will be Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Great Hall. Tickets will be $8 for students and $14 for the public.