HHS band festival gets big boost from parents

By Eileen Oldfield
   Parents sat in the rows of chairs in the Hillsborough High School band room last Wednesday, and others stood at the back of the room when all the seats were filled. Though a regular meeting for the Hillsborough Band Parents Association, much of the night’s work would include ironing out the last details for the upcoming Marching Band Festival.
   The HHS Marching Band will host its 14th annual Marching Band Festival this Saturday from 2:30 to 10 p.m. Twenty-two bands from throughout the state will compete at the event, with Hillsborough’s own Marching Band performing an exhibition titled “The Human Condition: Imagination, Fury, Passion and Euphoria.”
   As the band’s largest fundraiser for the year, the Marching Band Festival requires both organization and support from the Band Parents Association. The group’s tasks include escorting bands to practice locations and to the field, selling tickets and food, running scores to and from the show judges, and handling parking for both buses and show attendees.
   Easily the band’s biggest fans, the parents do more than drive their children to and from practices, attend their football games and band competitions, and serve as the personal cheering section for their kids, though those are some of the group’s most important duties. The organization provides meals for the students during games or daylong practices, coordinates fundraisers, moves the marching band’s percussion equipment, chaperones trips, and makes props and sews flags for the shows.
   While the marching band season — and the time when the parents’ efforts are most visible — coincides with the beginning of the school year, the parents’ efforts don’t drop off once the season ends. It’s a full-year commitment for the band parents, which means supporting the school’s Concert Band, Freshman Band, Wind Ensemble, Winter Guard and Jazz Bands. Since each ensemble has its own performance schedule, and expenses to participate and travel to the competitions, the parents’ duties continue throughout the year.
   ”The key duties are anything that we need to do to keep the program strong and growing,” Linda Mackiw, Band Parents Association president and parent of a senior, said in an e-mail. “And it’s not just for Marching Band, but for Winter Guard and Wind Ensemble, and Concert Band, and Freshman Band, and the other ensembles that have grown from the kids’ interests over the years.”
   Raising the funds to supplement what the district budgets for the program is a top priority for the band parents. Each year, the group raises approximately $40,000 in additional money for the program, Ms. Mackiw said, with this weekend’s Marching Band Festival raising most of the funds for the year.
   ”Enthusiasm at the events definitely helps the kids do better — just like fan support for athletics,” Peter Robbins, parent of a senior in the program, said in an e-mail. “The fundraising is critical to the program as the school system cannot provide the necessary funds for all the activities and things they need, and it allows the band to participate in competitions and go on trips.
   ”Hosting the annual festival is the most challenging task,” he added. “It is the largest fundraising event and requires a huge commitment in time and financial support by band parents to pull off.”
   Fundraisers range from the festival to magazine subscription sales, to concerts and auctions. Though the students do the performing and selling, the Band Parents Association handles the administrative end of the fundraising.
   Many of the parents said attending their first meeting and learning more about the program drew them in, whether they’re able to be very active in the organization or if other commitments keep them from it. Others said volunteering at their first band festival drew them into the fold, and the encouragement it gives the students keeps them coming back.
   ”When my son was a freshman, he attended Marching Band Camp prior to the start of the school year, and shortly after that I found out about the Band Parents Association, went to a meeting and quickly realized that, one, there was a lot to this and that I would need their help to best help and support my child in this — and to know what was going on,” said Jean Ricketts, parent of a senior. “Two, band parents are key to the success of the program and do a tremendous amount of work behind the scenes.”
   ”I love sitting together with other band parents so that the students can see a sea of white hats and the same T-shirts that they are wearing also in the stands,” said Thuy Ahn Le, who joined the organization after she and her husband were hosts to the competition judges during their daughter’s freshman year two years ago. “It clearly shows our support for them and you can’t ask for more on beautiful days.
   ”You can’t be too visible to the band members, especially your own child,” she added. “I know they appreciate the support but you can’t be too noticeable. So I yell out my encouragement and stamp my feet when I’m in the stands where she wouldn’t know it was me.”
   The band parents agree that the students mature and learn so much from the program, that supporting and expanding it is more than worth their efforts.
   ”High school is an amazing time of growth for kids anyway, but the band helps keep the kids going in a positive direction,” Mr. Robbins said.
   ”At the end of each year there is a dinner event where the seniors get up and speak about their band and life experiences before they graduate,” he said. “The difference in the freshmen and seniors is huge and really focuses on how much the kids have grown and how much the band has meant to them in so many different ways.
   ”There aren’t many dry eyes in the audience and that speaks volumes about the value of the band program.”
   The HHS Marching Band Festival will take place Saturday from 2:30 to 10 p.m. at the high school stadium. The competition will begin with smaller bands (Group I bands with less then 32 members); larger bands will perform later, culminating at 9:20 p.m. with the Hillsborough Raiders Marching Band’s performance. Spectators can come anytime during the festival for an entrance fee of $8 ($6 for students and seniors).