Posted by Administrator on June 14, 2011
Today is slightly warmer than yesterday but still gorgeous marching weather! Field commanders were announced today—congrats to the 2011 Head Field Commanders Kayla Shortridge (Tenor Sax) and Assistant Field Commander Jenny Bricker (French Horn). Thanks to all who tried out for your courage and effort! We had French toast as our main course for breakfast and haystacks (taco meat, tortilla chips, lettuce, cheese, and all the fixins!) for lunch. Yesterday each table decided what kind of pizzas they wanted for tonight. We had sectional practice to touch up some spots in the new songs and tricky parts in the old songs, and now we’re playing though the songs that Council is considering for out theme song, which we’ll play at every concert this summer. Later today Council will listen to the recordings we make during practice and discuss and vote on our 2011 theme song!
More of Tuesday’s Campfire festivities to come–”we’re goin’ on a bear hunt!”
-Meg
Posted by Administrator on
The 80’s dance tonight was tons of fun! Two band members, Deric Dove (tpt) and Spencer Koontz (Fr.Hrn) dressed up like Mario, and there were lots of leg warmers, banana hair clips and crazy outfits to look at! The Advisors dressed up like the Care Bears and surprised the band members with their group costume! Former band member Billy Edwards (tpt) was the DJ and played mostly songs from the 80’s. Favorite songs of the evening were the Cupid Shuffle, Bohemian Rhapsody, and Thriller. After the dance, we held night vespers at TARA. The band lined up on the brick walkway while the officers stood in TARA and spoke about a past band member that inspires them. Then we walked in twos back to the flagpole and took down the flags. David Davies (tpt) read a quote from last year’s challenge, as a member of the flags committee does each morning and evening during this week’s camp. “You are the wind beneath my wings!”
–Meg
Posted by Administrator on
Sunday evening we had Torches Forward, a ceremony for the Advisory Board members to celebrate their leadership and them going off to bigger things in life. Each AB member carried a torch symbolizing their legacy and leadership and their speeches were read to the band as they sat around the pond in the middle of the track. The AB members received their white AB armpatches and a pin for their uniform tie to designate them as AB members. Then we walked in twos back to the flagpole and took down the flags and went to bed after a full day! “High school friends come and go, but 4-H friends last forever!”
Special thank you to all the instructors who helped with sectional practice! We really appreciate them taking time out of their days to help us make our music the best it can be!
–Meg
Posted by Administrator on June 12, 2011
The rain cleared out just in time for check-in at camp! The band members got settled in their cabins, we had sack lunches, reviewed the safety rules for the week, then had practice! Our new songs this year are “Frankenstein” (popular with middle and high school bands), ”Wicked” (from the hit Broadway musical), and “Born This Way” (Lady Gaga’s latest hit!) We had roast beef, potatoes, and carrots (as the main dishes) for dinner, and enjoyed a “flash mob” style song by Council during dinner. We practiced some more music and then marched in and out of concert formation so we know just what to do at our concerts throughout the summer! Later in the evening we had some games (tic tac toe, team puzzle challenge, how to put together a band uniform, and a fun rule review) put on by the Opening Night committee with special help from President/Advisory Board Chairman Kayla Shortridge (tenor sax). After those small group games we came together for a game of “Garbage” which your band member can tell you all about, but basically it’s a team challenge to be resourceful to be the first team to find a certain object, such as a watch or a blue tennis shoe, and take it to the middle of the circle. After opening night games, the second year members received their first-year pins from last year after they stood up in front of the band and said their name, school, and their favorite thing about 4-H Band! They’ll wear that pin on their uniform tie throughout all their years in the band. After that we took down the flags and went to bed. Looking forward to a great week!
–Meg
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Posted by Administrator on
Council arrived Friday night and readied the bunks and cabins, and put all the instruments from the trailer into the back room of TARA so we can have easy access to them throughout the week. While we were having a Council meeting to talk about the week, the electricity went out because of the windy storm that blew through! For safety, we spent about 15 minutes in the bathroom of the dorm, just in case the winds got out of hand, but luckily they didn’t. Council made good use of the time by learning new camp songs to entertain the band members throughout the week. The electric came back on sometime in the wee hours of the morning and we were up and running full speed by check-in time on Satruday. (Special thanks for Jessica Rousseau (Vice-President, trumpet) and family for figuring out how to make the security system stop beeping after the power went out.)
–Meg
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Filed Under: Camp
