The drumline from the Big Red Machine. Photo by Jake DeMink.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, October 7 and 8, Vicksburg welcomed 13 bands from the 11th District of the Michigan State Band and Orchestra Association to perform at District Marching Festival. These bands performed for a performance rating, to ensure their program is meeting certain benchmarks in musical education and performance. They also received feedback commentary from a panel of adjudicators at the event.
This was a precursor to the much larger event which followed on Saturday, October 11: 20 marching bands were welcomed to Bulldog Stadium, each group competing for the highest score in its class at the 10th Annual Vicksburg Bulldog Marching Invitational. The event was the year’s second largest scholastic marching band competition In the state. Throughout the day, bands warmed up together for half an hour before heading to the stadium to stage equipment for their performance. Each band has fifteen minutes to set up, perform, and exit the field. During their performance, they are given scores for their marching, music, general effect, visual effect, color guard performance, and percussion performance. Some bands attend to perform a non-competitive exhibition performance as well, only receiving comments from the judges, without a score.
Awards are given out to all bands in these areas, with the grand champion award going to the band with the highest overall score from the entire day. This year, that award went to the Class A Portage Central marching band.
Vicksburg’s own “Big Red Machine” marching band was the final group to perform, though this was an exhibition performance without scores, as the hosting school traditionally does not compete when it hosts a marching competition.
Just before the final awards ceremony, Vicksburg’s drumline participated in a “Battle of the Bulldogs” Drumline Showcase, featuring the Otsego High School Marching Bulldog’s Drumline. This is a unique tradition, unique to the Bulldog Invitational that you won’t experience anywhere else. It’s a call-and-response format, where one drumline plays, then the other has a turn, and they repeat this several times with different songs each time, just trying to out-drum and out-perform the other group in a friendly, non-competitive show, all for the entertainment of the spectators.
The weather and performances from all bands were great, which really enhanced the rest of the experience. Bulldog Stadium welcomed an estimated four and a half thousand spectators and marching band performers.
But this event is one which continually improves and innovates, becoming an experience for the marching community of Michigan unlike any other competition in the state.
Once inside the gates, thousands of spectators were able to get their fill of delicious food from the Band Booster-provided concessions stand, or from one of the five food trucks on the site. They could choose from the following options: burgers and hot dogs from the Boosters; coffee, smoothies, and baked goods from Coffee Rescue; tacos, quesadillas, nachos, and more from the El Sabor de MI Pueblo food truck; classic fair foods from Ibison Concessions; or pulled pork, ribs, brisket tacos, mac’n cheese bowls, and more from the city bus-converted Two Bones BBQ food truck. For those who could not attend, the Great Events Video Productions team livestreamed the entire event on YouTube and Facebook for free, which has garnered over 3,000 views since it first streamed (still available to view). Event shirts were available for pre-order, and anyone in attendance was able to purchase a live shout-out to be read over the PA System by the house announcer for the event.
All in all, the 10th Annual Bulldog Marching Invitational was the biggest and most successful event hosted by Vicksburg Band Boosters Inc. at Bulldog Stadium in the 10 years the fundraiser has been around.
This fundraiser is one of the biggest sources of funding for the Vicksburg Band program, and it’s made possible by the support of all of the local sponsors and donors, the food truck vendors, Jake Demink for photographing each band’s performance and providing photos of the bands afterwards, the Village of Vicksburg and the Vicksburg Police Department, Vicksburg Community Schools and the VCS administration.
But most importantly, this day is especially made possible by all of the fantastic band parents and community members who step up to volunteer and run the event in all areas. Whether at the admission gates or up in the stands, at the booster concessions, selling shout-outs, or running things behind the scenes as a part of the coordinator team which plans everything out in the months leading up to the event, it takes a village. And this one loves the Big Red Machine.
Mark your calendars and save the date for the 11th Bulldog Marching Invitational next year to come on out and see all the excitement!
