This stadium, by far, is one of the finest stadiums to march in.  I think the announcer had it wrong.  J Birney Crum is a Marching Band Stadium that we permit other sports to play in.  The stadium is perfect for Marching Band and Dinkels.  The astroturf field is smooth, and with all the rain we had just prior to the event, you would never know it.  It simply great to walk and march on.  It is no accident that so many marching shows are held here at J Birney Crum.  The stadium seating is up against a hill so, the sound just surrounds you when they play.   When the bands come front, they blast you out of your seat.  It is a moment of blissful sound.   The event is always well organized and the keep the show moving.  For those that missed it,  the Collegiate level Marching Bands that show up are simply amazing.  It truly is all about performing.  It is about putting on a show on for the spectators with no rules and no limits on creativity.  It is 100% great music and art.

One noteworthy moment was that many of the Marching Band units dedicated their show to the late George N Parks. He was the UMASS director, but was als0 much more in the eyes of musicians everywhere.  His involvement touched so many at all levels of music.  He will surely be missed.   It was quite a somber moment when UMASS took the field and performed.   The dedication at the end of  their show was very memorial and somber as they dedicated their performance and 2 encore performances to George N Parks that followed a sing-along of “My Way.”

West Chester University Marching Band also put on a great show with field props.   What was particularly spectacular to watch with WCU, was the creativity that they brought to the field.

Their show had rolling props  they used on the field, and had theatrical work that was used to accompany the music.

University of Delaware performed as well as Millersville, Bloomsburg, Kutztown, Morgan State, Shepherd, Cheyney, Shippensburg, Lehigh, IUP, Lebanon Valley,  Mansfield, and others. 

It was a terrific afternoon for Marching Band performances.

Be sure to plan this event next year!

In Memory of George N Parks -
Information on George N Parks at UMASS can be found Here on their Music Home page. Information about donations for the George N Parks Scholarship funds can be found HERE.   Be sure to select the drop down in the form for you donation and allocation.

One thing I admire about the formal competitive organizations such as USSBA, Tournament of Bands, Cavalcade of Bands is the fact they are very organized.  They plan their events far in advance, have a detailed sign-up process, and they have easy way for High Schools to register and plan their schedule with also the follow up of the event’s scoring via a web site.   The events provide judges and have set up some rules for fair and balanced judging.   However, the one thing that I don’t seem to understand is why the organizations still stay with the numeric scores.  Clearly, you can you 2 “Superior” bands but it is just a tick mark or slight decimal differences that distinguish between a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place rating.     Wouldn’t it be better to judge a band on their merits as a band performing?   This is exactly how the Jazz Bands are judged in the spring.  So basically, the kids are judged against their own performance and not necessarily against another band.    It is how the entire ensemble performs as a group.

When the Marching unit is judged using a numeric score, even though their performance was Outstanding or Superior, I always wondered how the unit felt walking away from a competition where they had put on a great performance but lost a 1st or 2nd place trophy due to a small tick mark on a decimal point.        I think, if anything, the organized judging associations should consider the choice to the band participants on the style of judging they would like to receive.  Perhaps there is room for both types of scoring, but my suspicions would be that the way they handle the Jazz Band scores with Superior, Outstanding, Excellent, Very good methods would probably be more favorable to the entire unit.   It would be interesting to see which the kids prefer.

West Chester

Band Camp shows have been prepared,  kids are learning the routine, the drill, and hopefully the show and music!   August 2010 kicks off the Marching Band Season for most.

Here is the link to the USSBA 2010 Band Schedules:  http://www.yea.org/site/PageServer?pagename=USSBA_Fall_Schedule from the yea.org web site.

Here is the link to the Cavalcade of Bands Schedules from their site: http://www.cavalcadeofbands.com/tables.php?p=11&t=Show&r=Marching

And, Here is the Tournament of Bands Schedule Page:  http://www.njatob.org/index.php?option=com_fabrik&view=table&tableid=33&calculations=0&resetfilters=0&Itemid=115

Start planning your dates now for all the competitions and festivals. It will surely be a busy, and great season!

There is over 300 artists performing at this festival.  To me, since it is local to my native Pennsylvania, it is the “Woodstock” event for our generation. Tons of music, tons of food and drink, and tons of fun.   Just scroll the performers showing up and you will see why!    Tickets are on sale and you will find that link for ordering on their web site.

Have Fun!

US Flag

For many in high school, the Memorial Day parade is upon us.  If your school participates, this is the last chance for the seniors to put on the Marching Band uniform.  Unless they pursue Marching Band in college, it may be the last time, so take many pictures. 

I would like to take the opportunity to express some thoughts about Memorial Day.  For those of you that are not familiar with the tradition, Memorial Day is a very special day to our Veterans and families of veteran’s of the Armed Forces.   This is the day to remember all those who have died in our nation’s service.  It is a time to reflect upon their memory.  It is a time of honor and reflection of those that have sacrificed so much for all us here in the United States of America.  

The origins of Memorial Day, known as Decoration Day years ago, date back all the way to the US Civil War days of the mid to late 1860′s.  It is a time of remembrance.  It also a time to show the colors. If you are going to Memorial Day parade or service, grab your Flag.  Show the colors this day.   For those that know of a fallen soldier, or someone who has passed in the service of our country. Take a moment on Memorial Day during the service to remember and say an small prayer in reflection of their memory.   And for those of you that know someone who is active or retired of the armed services,  remember to say “Thank You for their service” either personally, or via email or phone call.   Memorial Day means so much to remember those who gave their all.  It is a day where we all come together to show honor.

The Sign Up for schools is going on right now. Dates go from Sept 11th through Nov 6th before the state and national championships start.

Folding Trailer

Over the years I have discovered many things that schools and colleges are doing to get their pit on and off the field.  I have seen carts made. I have seen commerical carts used. I have seen tractors running on Gas and Electric golf carts.   I have seen some of the low commercial carts in use, and have even spotted a few home built carts.  Some of the commercial carts are very expensive for a local high school booster club.  So, I wanted to share a Trailer Kit that a number of High School booster clubs are using.  This Trailer Kit is something I have spotted several high schools use, and even my own booster club ended up purchasing one.    So, here is a review of the pros and cons and our experience.

First off, this was a kit.  We purchased it in Quakertown Pennsylvania.  The cost was very reasonable and priced just over 1,000 dollars.  It can be road ready with just a bolt to prevent it from folding or you can fold it and store in the equipment truck.  It also stores nicely out of the way in the folded position in the storage room.   The cons.  The only thing we had to improve  on it were the casters located at the bottom of the trailer in the folded position. They were too light-duty for a folded 400 lb trailer. So, we ended up purchasing heavy duty wheeled casters that really improved this greatly. So, I would recommend this upgrade if you purchase this trailer and plan to store it in the folded position.  The other item that was not as nice as some of the more expensive band carts is the height.  It comes with 12″ wheels on it. It is a bit higher than some of the other carts we have seen.  You can purchase 8″ tires for it that lowers as an option and that helps both in height also the width of the tire is a little wider.  However, I have not seen any school tow this trailer on the road with 8″ tires, so that would need to be checked with the manufacturer.     Here is how we got started and how we used it.

When we picked up the kit, we painted the rails to our school colors. Since the trailer comes un-assembled. That was the ideal time. You also have to decide what kind of floort to put on.  They have a mesh floor you can use, or you can just go to your local Lowes or Home Depot and mount planks. It required some drilling and mounting but it was a good time to do it since they were all un-assembled parts.   We stained the planks first, then did the assembly.    We chose wood planks because it was sturdy and we can replace them if needed.     This trailer also comes with optional sides and strap mounts.  So we purchased these parts as well because it was our intent to use the trailer to tow our Tractor or Golf Cart on it to the shows.  Then, unload the tractor, and hitch this trailer up to the Tractor to tow our pit.  This would be the first car in the “Train” to tow the items.   The trailer had 12″  tires which does raise the height of it from the ground more than some of the more expensive band carts.  However, you can purchase 8″ wider rimmed wheels.  Some schools require the wider tires for their turf.  It may be desirable to have both sets on hand. It uses the standard 4 bolt pattern.   All in all, a low cost opportunity with the right upgrade, and you have a sturdy trailer to haul your tractor or cart, and use it for your pit.   Red Trailers.com had the item we purchased annd in the end, this worked out well and within the budget.   Their site is located here if you need more information.  http://www.redtrailers.com/ShowTrailer.asp?id=5

These are all very good questions and the answer really could be a combination of things, but what I tend to believe in is that you need to focus on the more popular items that sell easily and are actually items that people need and use right away.   Certainly food is in this category, however, selling bulk food as a fund-raising item has it’s challenges too.  Frozen items that are distributed, need to be delivered in a timely manner to the customer.    Keep in mind, that you are probably not the only organization selling that product for the School District or Marching Band.  

As you know, almost every organization does fund-raising today and it can be quite easy to reach selling overload with all of the people that support your various activities in the community.   So, with regard to food sales, I would recommend that you stay with popular vendors that provide the most value to the consumer, and where you can still make some decent profit.    Review your options and make the best choice.

Another area you need to look at, is the profit margin and the end-cost of the item to the consumer.  Most people will be aware that the cost of a fund-raised item will be a higher price than if you buy it in a store.  However, there is a limit to what someone will pay, regardless if it is a worthy cause or not.   So, if you feel the profit margin is too slim, or the profit margin causes the cost of the sale to go too high, you may want to pursue other options.  You may want to consider other vendors, or try something different. You may want to be creative instead of trying the status quo.

For example, I know of a group that still does Hoagie sales where they build the hoagies themselves on the Saturday morning before delivery.  This is an option if you can get the ingredients at a great price.   An assembly line can be set and you can stand to make a few dollars profit per hoagie quite easily.  A foot Long  hoagie can sell for just over 6 bucks and still provide good value to those buying them.   And in most cases, the consumers look forward to a fresh made hoagie delivered around noon on that Saturday delivery day.   This is much work, and takes a lot of volunteers and effort, but you can gain in some considerable profit if you can keep the cost of the materials down and if this is permitted in your district.   Perhaps, you may be successful in getting some of the ingredients donated, or paper goods, or wrapping.  All of these cost items need to be estimated before you begin.

Another item, that is not food related that is still needed in a difficult economy is the advertisement of your local businesses in your Band Programs booklets.  Another great option to the band program booklet could be a band “yellow pages” booklet that is used throughout the season.   

This type of  booklet is categorized by type of product or service, but it can be a popular give-away to your school district families and you may gain quite a big directory of vendors if you allow sufficient time for the sale of the ads.    This can be a great alternative that can raise a lot of funds for the organization.  There is great value to those that advertise in a “yellow pages” type of directory that they know will be distributed out to the band families and the community.   Both options require the leg-work to get out and sell the ad.  And both options yield the best result if you can shop for a quality printer that can create the booklet for you at the best cost possible.  In either case, the advertising campaign should not be overlooked in this economy because the local businesses need the patrons within the community to support their business.  Remember the cost per ad needs to be reasonable that allows the small business to invest, but still allows the organization to make some profit after the printing costs are paid.   In the case of “yellow page” booklets or printed material, you should estimate the cost on how many you will print based on how many ads come in.  It should be a progressive scale and you will need to create a chart based on the volume of ads and total income to be successful.   Optionally, if your organization has it’s own booster club web site, you can also make this directory of advertisers available on the web site, if permitted, to further enhance the advertising value. 

The bottom line is that you really want to be selective in what fund-raising campaigns you will attempt this year.  Review the return that is expected before engaging the resources needed to successfully kick off the campaign. Use the board members of your booster club to discuss the pros and cons for each campaign you are considering to get a good insight on what the expectation will be at the end of the campaign.  Only then, will you have the expected outcome.