Marching Band is Back!

After months of preparation and hard work, the Spirit of Woodlan Marching Band and Color Guard finally stepped onto the field to perform their show in uniform for the first time… in 22 months!!! Wow! What a wait! It was certainly a long and difficult wait for everyone involved: the students, the staff, and all of the families missing the excitement of marching band season. For all of those months, marching band was put on hold. Show music was silenced, uniforms hung in untouched cabinets, show props were left in storage, and weekends were suddenly free of plans… TOO free of plans. Thankfully, all that changed this weekend. Music was pulled out and played again, uniforms were brought out of cabinets, and props were dusted off and brought back to life. There was a reawakening in hearts that marching band was back to invigorate our souls!

At our house, we missed the marching season that never was last year. To be fair, we didn’t know what we were missing, as it was Bella’s freshman year, and we had never experienced marching band with her. In my own heart, marching band is back after 25 long years (eek!). This time, the view is a little different for me than all those years ago. My view has changed from proud clarinet player to proud marching band mom. I’m excited that I no longer have to spend all those hours running back drill at band camp, in the corn fields, in the August heat! LOL!

This past Friday night, September 10th, the band and guard performed during the varsity football game against Bluffton High School for the first time in their uniforms. They did a great job and worked out those “first-performance-of-the-season” jitters. They looked fantastic in their uniforms and put on a great performance.

Saturday, September 11th, brought their first long day of the season. They ran and re-ran drill all morning, and had a great lunch together before loading the buses. They enjoyed the hot dogs, hamburgers, pasta salad, chips, and cookies provided by the parents. After a short bus ride to Bluffton, complete with shouts and giggles of “we’re turning left!”, they were ready to compete in the “On the Banks of the Wabash” Marching Band Competition.

Uniforms were zipped, pant legs were fixed, shoe laces were tied, hair was sprayed and braided and tucked under hats, makeup was done, plumes were placed, gauntlets were donned, gloves were put on, harnesses were adjusted, and (oh, yes!) white socks were traded for black ones. Let the show begin!!!

Same band, same clarinet, same semi-trailer... 25 years later :)

Ready for warmups!

Here we go!

After warm-ups (and they really did warm up in that hot sun!), they were ready to take the field. It was GO time! Last minute nerves mixed with excitement to perform. They all stood a little taller, and marched onto the field to the sound of parents cheering “Give me a W! … Spirit of Woodlan!!!”

The band and guard did a wonderful job performing their show, “Cleopatra.” They looked and sounded great. No doubt they were a sight for sore eyes! They were all so excited to be doing what they loved once again, and we were all so excited to be cheering them on! The weather was beautiful with blue skies, warm sunshine, and yes, a little too much wind. Thankfully the Egyptian columns on the field held up to the wind just fine, and all was well.

After changing out of their uniforms, they gathered together to watch the awards program. There was a very moving tribute to all those lost in the tragedies on September 11, 2001, complete with a gun salute, and a somber playing of “Taps”. It was a powerful moment to remind us all of how much we have to be thankful for, and to help us remember the importance of unity.

At the Awards ceremony, our drum major Brock Fuller, with his slick new salute, stepped forward to accept the caption awards of “Best General Effect” and “Best Music”. He did a great job! The crowd went wild when they announced the first-place winner of Class D Open was, the Spirit of Woodlan!!! Great job at your first competition, Spirit!

Onward to next week! I hope you all will join us to cheer on the band and guard at Week #2 at the Dekalb Invitational on Saturday, September 18th. Spirit of Woodlan will perform at 5:45pm, with awards at 7:30pm for Open D, Open C, and Open B Classes. Doesn’t it feel great to be back?!?