It seems hard to believe that this weekend marks the fourth weekend of MCBA events for 2012. That being said, the final Saturday of September has two MCBA competitions: Belding and West Bloomfield. 10 bands perform at Belding, and 11 will be at West Bloomfield.
West Bloomfield
Of the two competitions, West Bloomfield is the earlier starting one, beginning with Opening Ceremonies at 4:05 PM. Competition officially begins with South Lake in Flight IV at 4:15.
DeWitt, Linden, and Marysville make up Flight III, which begins at 4:30. Four bands will compete in Flight II, which starts at 5:15.
Following a break, Lakeland takes the field at 6:30 in Flight I. Novi performs at 6:45, and West Bloomfield will present “That’s a Stretch” in exhibition at 7:00. Awards for all Flights will be held at 7:30 PM.
Tickets are $7 for adults, and $5 for Students and Seniors. West Bloomfield is located at 4925 Orchard Lake Road in West Bloomfield.
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Belding
The Belding Invitational begins with Opening Ceremonies at 5:50 PM.
Important Note to Spectators: Belding Schools are undergoing construction, and because of such, parking will be even more congested than normal. There will be no fan parking available in the Upper Lot of the High School. Spectators are encouraged to park in the High School Lower Lot, the Middle School Lot, or on the Streets of the neighborhoods around the campus. It is strongly encouraged that you arrive early and expect to walk. The neighborhoods around Belding are hilly, so if you are traveling with any individuals who cannot climb hills, we recommend that you drop them off at the Stadium.
Competition begins at 6:00 PM, with Wayland Union in Flight III. This is Wayland’s first year competing in MCBA. We wish them luck as they take on this exciting endeavor! Additionally, new this year is Reeths-Puffer in Flight III. They perform at 6:45 and conclude Flight III competition. Being a dominant player of Flight II for many years, it will be interesting to see how the judges will score Reeths-Puffer against Flight III schools, and this Saturday at Belding will be a very important moment for Flight III.
Flight IV begins at 7:15 with Kent City. Durand joins us this year and will perform at 7:45. The majority of Flight IV is comprised of West Michigan bands and due to finances, it is understandable that the East and West bands do not meet until State. It will be very exciting to have Durand at this competition, which is notoriously Flight IV heavy. Belding will perform in Flight IV exhibition at 8:15.
Rockford will compete in Flight I at 8:30 PM, with awards at 9:00 PM. Some individuals may question why Rockford is performing after the Host band, and as we do not know for certain, we can provide two guesses: Rockford signed up after the schedule was set and this was the easiest change, or this was done to not have the Judges compare Flight IV to Flight I, which could affect scores. Whatever the reason, Belding this year is looking to be a very interesting and insightful competition.
Belding is located at 850 Hall Street in Belding. Tickets are $7 for Adults and $5 for Students and Seniors.
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Will you be attending one of these competitions? If you buy a program, please take some time after the competition to send us band show titles and competition scores. We, unfortunately, cannot attend every event and your submissions ensure a more complete experience and record of Michigan’s competitive marching bands.