MARCHING BANDS TAKE FIELD SATURDAY, OCT. 12 IN 2019 DELMARVACADE OF BANDS

Lights, music, marching! One of the most exciting and uplifting nights of the marching band season is coming up Saturday, Oct. 12, when Parkside High School and the Parkside Band Boosters present the 2019 Delmarvacade of Bands at Wicomico County Stadium.

High school marching bands from throughout the region will fill Wicomico County Stadium that night with the sights and sounds of their field shows as bands tune up for championship events. (Makeup day is Oct. 13, if needed due to weather.) This is the only local chance all season to see the marching bands of James M. Bennett High, Wicomico High and Parkside High perform their shows on the same field, in Group 3-Open.

Between bands, parents, and spectators, the Delmarvacade of Bands is expected to draw several thousand people to the stadium. Bands will compete starting at 5 p.m., with each band performing the kind of field show people are accustomed to seeing at halftime of football games. Each performance will last seven to 12 minutes.

The event is sponsored by Parkside High School and its Band Boosters. It will be adjudicated by professional judges of the National Judges Association. Bands will be judged on every aspect of their field show, including both musical and visual elements, individual and group elements, as well as the overall general effect of the show. Each band will receive a score based on a 100-point scale, and a trophy. There will be an awards ceremony at the end of the night.

Bands will compete in four size categories, depending on the number of instrumentalists in the band. This year, for the first time, James M. Bennett, Wicomico High and Parkside High are all in Group 3-Open. That night, JMB will compete at 6:15 p.m. and WiHi will take the field at 6:30 p.m., competing for placement in the competition. Parkside will perform last that evening (6:45 p.m.), in exhibition. (Delmarvacade of Bands host Parkside will not compete for placement, but will perform for a Tournament of Bands score.)

Marching bands stay all evening, even after they have competed. Bands know they are competing not just against each other, but against their own previous performances. Every band will be trying to make this field show just a little bit better than its last. The awards ceremony will be at 7:15 p.m.

Admission to Delmarvacade of Bands is $8. A program detailing the participants, with a score sheet to keep track of how the bands are doing, is $5. For information please contact Parkside High Marching Band at 410-677-5161.