By Jake Munson, Lead Event Coordinator
Vicksburg High School’s Bulldog Stadium will be filled Saturday, October 14, with spectators and marching bands from all over West Michigan for the 8th Annual Bulldog Marching Band Invitational. This is one of the largest fundraisers of the year for our award-winning band program. Everyone in South County is encouraged to come soak in some live music, enjoy the array of concessions, and stay for the annual crowd-favorite Drumline Showcase.
This year’s Bulldog Invitational features 14 Class AA-D high schools, kicking off with the National Anthem at 2:50 p.m., and the first band performance at 3 p.m. Bands perform in 15-minute segments. Schools scheduled to perform this year include Gobles, Eau Claire, Springport, Hartford, Schoolcraft, Cassopolis, Brandywine, Parchment, Otsego, Portage Central, Kalamazoo Central, Mattawan, Grand Haven, and Vicksburg’s own Big Red Machine in an exhibition performance of their award-winning 2023 competition show, “Eternal Light”.
Following Vicksburg’s performance, the Big Red Machine’s Drumline will meet Grand Haven’s Buccaneer Drumline center-field for the crowd-favorite Drumline Showcase, which celebrates the hard work of both groups. The event concludes with awards at 7:45 p.m. for Class B, A, AA bands (Class D, C Awards follow the last Class C band), where the crowd can find out who takes home the Grand Champion trophy for having the highest scores of all five classes for the whole event. The performance schedule and more info can be found at https://www.vicksburgbands.com/bulldog-invitational.html
The admission charge for this fundraiser is still at the low price of $6 per person with printed programs available for an additional $4. If you’ve never attended a marching band invitational, this is a great way to experience one for the first time.
And for those who enjoy and love to support the tradition of excellence continually demonstrated by the diverse offerings of arts in our community, this is another great opportunity to see how the little village of Vicksburg continues to provide exciting arts experiences for all to attend and enjoy. Parking is available at Vicksburg High School and Middle School and the Vicksburg Administration Building. Overflow parking is available on nearby streets.
The Bulldog Invitational is being livestreamed by Great Events Video Productions. This is a great way to enjoy the show, if you or someone close are unable to attend in person. However, if you are able to attend, the food trucks featured at our Invitational this year includes an Ibison Concessions Food Truck and Sweet Caroline’s Ice Cream Truck.
Vicksburg a few days earlier is also serving as a Host Site for the Michigan State Band & Orchestra Association District XI Marching Band Festival, on Tuesday, October 10. The public is welcome and Ibison Concessions will be there as well.
The Vicksburg Band Boosters work hard to make this an enjoyable experience for all, while innovating to make this a successful fundraiser for the Vicksburg Bands program year after year. Strong community support, large anticipated audiences, and great participating bands all factor into sustaining the Annual Bulldog Marching Invitational and the award-winning Big Red Machine.
