By Sue Moore
A fundraiser for the band program, planned by the Band Boosters organization, will take place on Friday, April 21 from 6-9 p.m. at the Vicksburg Family Life Center in the United Methodist Church. There will be music of course, a full dinner and lots of kid-friendly activities, according to event chairperson Ann Marie Earl.
The funds will go to help defray expenses for new equipment for the band, since all the large instruments that students play are purchased for them. This includes tympani at a cost of $15,000 to $16,000 apiece, tubas between $7,000 and $8,000 and annual maintenance of instruments that comes in at about $5,000 each year.
In the 2014-15 school year, the Boosters financed the $90,000 purchase of over 200 new uniforms to replace those that had been in service since the early ‘90s. This was paid off and another 40 uniforms were purchased in 2016, as the marching band by that time had swelled to nearly 220 musicians. The high school counts just under 800 students, so the band program itself represents one quarter of all those in grades nine through 12.
Families are encouraged to attend for a fun evening of dinner and entertainment, Earl said. Tickets are $25 per person, $45 for two, with a family of four (or more) topping out at $60. Purchase of tickets before April 15 will save $5 on each attendance level.
Every two or three years the band takes a trip, often to Disney World in Orlando, Fla., to play in competition there and perform community service. Members go during spring break for four days in Disney Park, and travel two days there and back by bus. They will play concerts and march through Epcot, in competition with many other bands who have made the trip. Their community service project this year will be helping with maintenance and clean-up of a park in Orlando. When they performed community service two years ago, members voted it as the most memorable part of the trip, said band Director Ben Rosier.