My oldest granddaughter is a member of the Lincoln High School marching band and this last Saturday they competed in The Dutchmen Field Championship in Orange City Iowa. It is one of the largest Midwest marching band competitions. This was my first time going to a marching band competition and I have
to say it was pretty cool. In more ways than one, I really should have
taken a blanket.
Each band's performance consisted of three 'acts'. The Patriots colorguard actually changed outfits during the performance. Switching from the bright green 'Alien' outfits to orange/gold spacesuit outfit. The theme of their performance was "Moving to Mars".
The large boxes served both as a way to display background scenes for the show as well as to provide a place for the colorguard to quickly change their outfits. It was so well choreographed that I didn't even realize what was happening till I saw the different color outfits.
Toward the end of their performance they had a huge parachute like material unfurl as the band played and a voice could be heard saying "Huston we have touchdown".
Most of the bands competing had less than 100 students, with a few
having between 110 and 150 students, but my granddaughter's band is
huge. They have 260 students in the marching band. Watching them march off the field really gave a good sense of just how big they are. This photo only covers about half of the band.
After the Patriots performance the band for the hosting school performed a really awesome show titled "The Giving Tree". Then all of band performers gathered on the field with blankets to sit and watch the fireworks display while the judges deliberated.
When the lights went back on the kids on the field stood up while a few members from each band lined up on the sideline to accept awards for their teams.
For the most part everyone was having a good time, except this young lady that was sitting next to me. She was so tired and just wanted to go home. In her defense I will admit that some of the performances were a tad on the boring side.
Every band got a participation award, and awards were given for various performance aspects. I do have to say I was glad that the bands were grouped into different classes with awards given in each class. The Lincoln Patriots received first place which really wasn't a surprise because they are very accomplished with a long list of outstanding accomplishments. They have participated in the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California as well as in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York on multiple occasions. This year they have been invited and will be marching in The Hollywood Christmas Parade" in Hollywood, California. All of which is a testament to not only the kids but to Lincoln High School's music and marching band programs and directors.
At the end of the night we were all a bit cold and tired but very happy too. Three
High schools from Sioux Falls and two from smaller towns near Sioux
Falls had all competed, so the line of cars heading back to Sioux Falls looked even longer than the line created by the Patriots as they left the field. I tried to get a good shot of the long line of cars and buses on the roadway in front of us, but this is the best I got. LOL
Have you ever been to a marching band competition?
Thank you for visiting me here in South Dakota.
This is my contribution to 'Sunday In My City'.
To find out what is going on in different cities around the world hop over to
Unknown Mami's Sunday In My City blog hop.
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