Scout House At 2013 DCA Alumni Spectacular

Preston Scout House Band, of Cambridge, Ontario will share the field at Navy Marine Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland with 10 other well-known alumni drum and bugle corps, performing for the 11th time since its debut performance in 2002 at the Drum Corps Associates (DCA) Alumni Spectacular field show.

The alumni exhibition, one of the highlights of the DCA championship tournament weekend, will take place on Sunday, September 1 beginning at 10 am. The Alumni Spectacular includes nine corps from the United States and two from Canada:
*Steel City Ambassadors of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
*Freelancers of Sacramento, California
*Florida Brass of Lakeland, Florida
*Optimists of Toronto, Ontario
*Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights of Newark, New Jersey
*Preston Scout House of Cambridge, Ontario
*Reilly Raiders of Willow Grove, Pennsylvania
*New York Skyliners of Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey
*Park City Pride of Bridgeport, Connecticut
*Bridgemen of Bayonne, New Jersey
*Caballeros of Hawthorne, New Jersey

The Alumni Spectacular concert usually marks the end of the field show season for most competing and alumni corps. Scout House is scheduled to perform a rare mid-September field show on September 15, during 60th anniversary reunion celebrations of St. John’s drum and bugle corps of Brantford. St. John’s began in 1953 as an all-girl drum and bugle corps at Brantford Catholic High School and competed in various forms until 2006, winning a number of provincial and national titles. St. John’s still operates as a competitive winter colour guard.

The Alumni Spectacular field show has become a familiar feature of the DCA tournament weekend, with spectators showing great appreciation of the vintage music and traditional marching style and patterns featured in alumni field shows. Members of alumni corps also become familiar with the members and performances of other alumni groups over the course of the summer field show season.

Scout House has performed with other groups appearing in Annapolis a number of times at parades and field shows this year, beginning in May with the Perry 200 Grand Patriotic Parade in Erie, Pennsylvania where Steel City Ambassadors also marched in the largest public event ever held in the city, celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812.

The Optimists of Toronto and Scout House both marched in the May 24 holiday weekend Victoria Day parade in Woodstock then performed an afternoon field concert. Both units also marched in the Welland Rose Festival parade in June. Scout House and Optimists both performed at the Scout House 4th annual Invitational Tattoo on August 10 in Waterloo and shared the field a week later at the Optimists’ Legends of Drum Corps V field show in Oshawa.

The Cavalcade of Champions in Lewisburg Pennsylvania, back after a one-year absence for field renovations, featured both Scout House and Hawthorne Caballeros alumni in early July. The two groups spent a weekend together on August 9 and 10 in Waterloo, mingling at the Friday nostalgic social the evening before the Invitational Tattoo. On August 10, Hawthorne and Scout House members were among the 500 hungry diners at the Fellowship Barbecue organized and hosted by Scout House for members of all the units appearing in the Tattoo. And, of course, socializing extended well beyond the Saturday night midnight hour in the Granite Club adjacent to University Stadium, following the Tattoo.

On Thursday August 22, Scout House said farewell to the faithful hometown fans who enjoy watching Thursday evening drill sessions all summer. The Band performed its 75th anniversary year field routine in full uniform as a salute to the community at the last Thursday practice before departing for Annapolis.

Rehearsals will revert to Sunday afternoons at the Preston Knights of Columbus building in mid-September when the Band will begin to work on new music for the 2014 parade and field show season. Anyone interested in joining the Scout House family, which includes the alumni band, Cadets youth drum line, soon to become a full drum and bugle corps, or the large associate group which provides various support services is encouraged to attend the Open House to be held Sunday, September 29.

For more information about Scout House Band, contact Activities Director Nancy Weiler at telephone (519) 653-3376, email prestonscouthouseband [dot] adm [at] sympatico [dot] ca or visit the Web site at http://www.scouthouseband.com/

Information about Preston Scout House Cadets is available from Jim Pratt at: kusankusho [at] hotmail [dot] com