And here we are: the last weekend of regular competitions in Michigan. Scholastic officially ended its season last week. This Saturday, the MCBA bands are performing in hopes for a score that will secure a place in State Finals on November 1. Flight II bands need not worry as much – all 12 will advance to State. For Flights I, III, and IV, this will not be the case. Due to declined participation in MCBA and increase attendance at State, only seven bands will not advance this year. Who will those seven be? We’ll find out this weekend.
Troy Athens
The smallest of the three competitions this weekend, Troy Athen’s contest opens at 5:30 PM. Thirteen bands will be in performance. The high school is located at 4333 John R. Road, in Troy, MI 48085.
Flight II (1) starts at 5:45 PM
Flight IV (2) starts at 6:00 PM
Flight III (5) starts at 6:30 PM
Flight I (4) starts at 8:00 PM
Troy Athens performs at 9:00 PM
Awards for all Flights will be at 9:15 PM
Huron Valley Invitational
Hosted by Lakeland in White Lake (address: 1630 Bogie Lake Rd., White Lake, MI 48383), the Huron Valley Invitational, which opens at 2:50 PM, will feature 20 bands in competition, and a special exhibition performance by the Grand Valley State University Laker Marching Band.
Flight IV (1) will start at 3:00 PM
Flight III (5) will start at 3:15 PM
Flight I (6) will start at 4:45 PM
Awards for Flights IV, III, and I will be at 6:30 PM
Flight II (6) begins at 7:15 PM
Milford performs in Exhibition at 8:45 PM
Lakeland performs in Exhibition at 9:00 PM
The GVSU Laker Marching Band will perform at 9:15 PM
Flight II Awards will be at 9:30 PM
West Shore Invitational
A contest of many names, the West Shore Invitational (or “RP@Rockford”), is once again hosted by Reeths-Puffer at Rockford High School, located at 4100 Kroes St. NE, in Rockford, MI 49341. 22 bands will be in performance at this competition.
Flight IV (11) starts at 2:45 PM
Flight IV awards will be at 5:45 PM
Flight III (6) will begin at 6:30 PM
Flight I (2) starts at 8:00 PM
Flight II (2) begins at 8:30 PM
Reeths-Puffer performs at 9:00 PM
Awards for Flights III, I, and II will be at 9:30 PM
As these are all MCBA competitions, we expect they will all cost about $8 for adults and $6 for students and seniors. We also understand that our site gets hit the hardest for scores this Saturday. With only two of us, living in West Michigan, we cannot possibly be at every competition. Send us scores when they’re announced! (And if you somehow have a recap, you can send us a photo or scan of that. We won’t post the recap – we’ll use it for scores and captions only.)
We wish every band the best of luck this Saturday, and in the words of Effie Trinket, “May the odds be ever in your favor.”