Rehearsals (June- October) Marching band is extra-curricular, not co-curricular. This means very minimal instruction on marching band happens during the school day since marching band isn’t a required part of our curriculum at Athens. Because of this, we rehearse 2-3 times per week. At each rehearsal, there will be 10-14 paid professionals to work with our students. Your student will receive individual attention, and will transform their musicality immensely during marching season. You are more than welcome to watch our rehearsals, but please arrive after 8pm to see us perform what we learned that day. Your student won’t want to be absent for rehearsals because of how much information is taught in our rehearsals. It is best to get homework done and eat dinner before rehearsal starts. Band Camp (First week of August) Our annual band camp takes place at Echo Grove Camp in Leonard, MI. The kids will be bussed round trip. Band Camp allows us to have a blast while learning our show, and takes place at a very safe, enjoyable camp that we have attended for many consecutive years. While at Echo Grove, the kids are supervised by chaperones and staff. Band Camp is a very, very, very fun week! Home Games The marching band performs at all home games. Be sure to arrive by 6:45 to catch the pre-game show, and stick around for halftime to watch our performance. The students perform in the stands during quarters 1, 2, and 4. During the 3rd quarter, the students can roam around the stadium and visit family and friends. Win or lose, we stay until the end of the game, followed by a brief meeting outside of the band room. Be sure to pick up your student quickly after the game, and have them hang up their uniform when they get home! Competitions Our marching band competes in the Scholastic Marching Band circuit (SMB). This year we will compete at the following locations: Athens, Chippewa Valley, Brandon and possibly Trenton. After we perform, we get a score based on our performance. Band Festival Similar to band festival inside an auditorium, we attend MSBOA marching band festival at Troy High. This is a great event for us to perform locally, and to see what other bands in MSBOA District 16 are up to. Similar to band festival, the band is awarded a division rating (1st, 2nd, etc.) Halloween Parade The kids dress up in their Halloween costumes and we march through two subdivisions (Troy Union and Wass) to get the kids of the subdivision excited about Halloween. This is a very fun, laid back parade. Thanksgiving Parade We submit an application every other year to march in America’s Thanksgiving Day Parade for our bi-annual performance on Woodward Ave. We will be notified of our acceptance status in the Fall, but please keep Thanksgiving Day open on your schedule. Our anticipated itinerary is to meet at Athens at 7am (or earlier) on Thanksgiving Thursday, travel via bus to Detroit, perform in the parade, then return back to Athens by 1pm. An exact itinerary will be available once we learn if we are accepted, and what time we will step off on this nationally televised event!