Racine Scouts 80th Anniversary Celebration
The Racine Explorer Scouts of Racine, Wisconsin will celebrate their 80th anniversary in 2007, making the organization the oldest continually competitive junior corps in North America. Many exciting events are planned for the coming season.
On Sunday, May 27th, the corps will host a community wide birthday celebration at Hammes Field (J.I.Case High School) in Racine. This event is modeled on the annual ice-cream socials that the corps hosted in from the 40’s through the mid 70’s.
"Our 80th birthday celebration will be an opportunity to re-connect with our community roots, to thank our many supporters, and to celebrate with those in the drum corps community who are closest to us. The ice cream socials of yesteryear gave the corps an opportunity to perform their music in a family setting and allowed the community to enjoy an afternoon of fellowship and entertainment", said executive director Paul Chaffee. The highlight of the party will be a standstill concert, as performed by some of the world’s finest corps. "The drum corps community is well aware of the historical bonds between the Racine Scouts, The Cavaliers, and the Madison Scouts. Hopefully this event will allow our students to learn more about the ties that bind these three corps together", said Chaffee. "We are particularly greatful to all of the corps that have agreed to come to Racine during the busy Memorial Day weekend, especially when we’re ALL trying to get in as much drill teaching as possible."
Corps participating in the birthday extravaganza include the Racine Scouts and Racine Scouts alumni corps, Capital Sound, The Pioneer. The Kilties, Classic Cavaliers and the of course, the defending World Champions, The Cavaliers. Food and beverages will be available (What’s a birthday party without cake and ice-cream?) along with some other "surprises".
All seats for the concert are reserved, and tickets are available at several Racine area businesses and also on the corps’ website, www.racinescouts.com. All proceeds from this event will go toward the Racine Scouts endowment fund and will also fund an annual scholarship for division II and III.
