Marching Band Competitions

Ever find yourself on the highway early on a fall morning and wonder where all those sets of school busses could possibly be going?

Maybe you saw the first set of busses pass by in the haze of the predawn light and didn't notice the pickup pulling a long trailer behind them. By the second or third time you saw busses across the divided highway, the sun was well on its way to rising and now you noticed the different school names on the busses and the school colors adorning the long trailers. This time you also noticed the fleet of cars following along. Did that school really have its own semi-truck?

Where are all of these people headed?

To marching band competitions.

The competitive high school marching band season runs (primarily) on weekends during the months of September and October -- and it kicked off in most states last weekend. Competitions come in all shapes and sizes -- some include a parade requirement along with the field show segment, while others are strictly field show competitions. (In simplest terms, field shows are the shows high school marching bands perform during the halftime of home football games. The competitions are showcase events where bands perform their field shows for a panel of judges.)

Regardless, it takes months of practice, preparation, and fund raising to prepare a show and get bands to and from competitions.

Why tell you all of this? Two reasons, really. First, if you have elementary-aged children and think that they might be musically inclined, find a competition in your area and go. You'll open their eyes to a whole new musical perspective that they won't get in a concert hall or theater. Second, for the next two months thousands of people will be on the road at all hours of the day going to or coming home from marching competitions -- drive safe!

[Note to spelling whiz kids: according to Webster's the plural of "bus" may be spelled "busses" or "buses." I like "busses."]