All good things must come to an end, and for our Scholastic bands, this weekend marks the end of the 2012 Competitive season. There are two Scholastic competitions this weekend: Jenison, which begins at 8:45 AM, and East Kentwood, starting at 3:00 PM.
Jenison
Saturday is a busy day for Jenison, as their marching competition consists of both a Scholastic and an MCBA competition. Here we will just focus on the Scholastic portion, although the event page lists the entire day’s schedule.
A large portion of Jenison’s campus is under construction. While this was originally announced as affecting equipment and bus parking, there are strong chances that it will also affect spectator parking. You are strongly recommended to arrive early as parking at Jenison often becomes scarce.
The competition begins at 8:45 AM with opening ceremonies. Class D competition starts at 9:00, and concludes after River Valley’s performance at 9:45. Class C starts at 10:00 AM and concludes with a performance by Blissfield at 11:00. Class D and C Awards are at 11:30 AM.
Class B starts immediately after Class D/C Awards, at 11:45 AM. Because of this schedule, the “break” occurs before awards, which means that there will be a mass exodus after awards. To all spectators: If your band is in Class B, arrive early. If you have stayed to watch Class D/C Awards, consider watching several more band’s performances before leaving to prevent congestion. Out of respect to every band, nobody should be entering or leaving stands during a performance.
Dowagiac opens Class B competition at 11:45 AM, and Otsego concludes Class B with their 1:00 PM performance. The Big Red Machine, our featured band of the week, performs “Rhapsody” at 12:30 PM. There will be a fifteen minute break between Class B and A, with Waterford Mott taking the field in Class A at 1:30 PM. Petoskey concludes Class A performance at 2:30 PM. Jenison will perform “JOAN” in exhibition at 2:45. Awards for Class A and B will be at 3:00 PM.
If you are interested in staying for more performances, the MCBA competition will begin at 4:00 PM with Flight IV, followed by Flight III at 7:15, Flight I at 9:15, and Flight II at 9:45. Please note, however, that this is a different competition circuit with different judging criteria and expectations.
The competition costs $7 for adults, and $5 for students and seniors. Children whom are pre-school aged and younger are admitted free, and there is a family ticket available for $22, with a stipulation of no more than 2 adults.
Jenison’s Campus is located at 2140 Bauer Road in Jenison (zip code: 49428).
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East Kentwood
Approximately 16 miles from Jenison, the East Kentwood Invitational will begin at 3:00 PM with Fremont in Class D, followed by Cassopolis. Because of the proximity, it will not be uncommon to see bands compete in Double Headers this Saturday.
Class C competition will begin at 3:30 PM with Wyoming Lee. Orchard View is the first of seven bands that will be doing a double-header this day; they perform here at 4:15. Whitehall concludes Class C competition at 5:00. There will then be a 15 minute break.
Class B opens at 5:30 with Edwardsburg. 7 bands total will compete in Class B, with three of those having come from Jenison’s competition: Vicksburg, Otsego, and Ionia. Ionia’s performance at 7:00 PM will conclude Class B. Following Class B, there will be a 30 minute break.
Berrien Springs performs in “extended” Class C at 7:45 PM, and Class A competition begins at 8:00 with Wyoming (the first of three Class A bands that will have performed a double-header). The other double-header Class A bands, Kalamazoo Central and Petoskey perform at 8:30 and 8:45, respectively. Portage Central concludes Class A with a performance at 9:00. They will be followed by East Kentwood’s exhibition performance.
Awards for all Classes will be at 9:30 PM.
East Kentwood is located at 6230 Kalamazoo Avenue SE in Kentwood (zip: 49508).
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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.