Celebrating A Fantastic Winter Winds Season

This past Friday night, April 12th, many students, staff, and parents gathered at Mike and Nicki McFeters’s Barn to celebrate the Winter Winds Season. Just as the Winter season is more laid back than the marching band season, the “banquet” for the season is too. The end-of-the-season celebration for Winter Winds was all about gathering together to enjoy an evening of fellowship and food and possibly snuggle with a baby goat or two.

It seems the weather usually does not cooperate enough to have a bonfire, but the students enjoyed spending time together, talking, and enjoying good food. Students brought a variety of food, including pulled pork sandwiches, shredded chicken for sandwiches, macaroni and cheese, buffalo chicken dip, hamburgers and hotdogs, chips, and an assortment of desserts. Several played basketball together, and eventually a large group of students found themselves playing their favorite game, Ninja. It was a fun evening for the students and parents to relax and enjoy their time together. This Winter Winds season was a favorite for many of the students, and they produced a fun show that the crowd and judges all loved.

The students have had a few weeks off from practices and enjoyed a couple rare weekends to themselves. For the seven graduating seniors, their time in band is winding down, with only a few weeks left of jazz band practices and their spring concert coming up in a month. For the rest of the students, they will start practicing for marching band this upcoming week. They will dive back in, looking forward to a great season ahead! Stay tuned to see what’s coming up for the Spirit of Woodlan!

As for me, my days with the Spirit of Woodlan are also coming to an end… for the second time in my life! When I graduated from Woodlan 27 years ago, I thought then that my days with the Spirit of Woodlan were complete. My years marching with the Spirit of Woodlan were full of amazing memories and were some of the best years of my life. I have really enjoyed these bonus years I’ve been able to spend with the band, this time as a band parent. I appreciate each and every one of you that gave your time, effort, and energy to helping this band be the best that it can be. The Spirit of Woodlan has a legacy of being one of the best bands in the state in our class, and I know that many more exciting days are ahead for the band. Thank you for reading along as I’ve done my best to recap the experiences, highs, and lows that this band family has encountered over the last three years. Jason and I have loved helping out with the Spirit of Woodlan, whether it has been with pit crew, uniforms, concession stands, prop building, locker decorations, or the booster board. We are excited for some free time in our lives (what’s that?) until the fall, when we plan to cheer on Bella in the Butler University Marching Band and Basketball Band in the spring. Keep up the good work, and we’ll be sure to come back and cheer you all on at the competitions. After years of working on the pit crew, it will be fun to come back and watch you perform (and cheer loudly during the Spirit cheer!) from the stands… and maybe even bring our chicken and dumpling soup for you all for Soup Day!