i used to help with the Special Olympics on the base.....it did go a few years after 9/11, but it got incredibly hard. Heck just going to a wedding reception at the Carlisle War College in 2007 had my car scanned 3 times from turning onto the property to getting to the officers club.
And it's a good one. Several churches in So Cal have schools with large fields and gymnasiums. They're mostly vacant in the summer and could accommodate a Drum Corps. Good chance they have less litigious concerns than a state-run school.
We used to stay and practice at a naval base.
Quite true. Once upon a time, corps often stayed and practiced at church-connected facilities. Some of those folks thought of it as charitable community work.
There are also National Guard armories that can accommodate large numbers easily, and regularly serve as shelters. A connection to the state governor would be the ticket for access. These facilities are usually vacant for a few weeks in summer when the troops are away at training.
Welcome to the future of Drum Corps. DCI signing with Varsity will be the end of DCI. Their tendency to control everything (including scoring penalties for not using their equipment, serioisly, can you imagine Rennick being penalized a point for not using Yamaha drums or IP sticks, that equivalent happens in Varsity cheerleading events) will end DCI.
This, or something like this, will end up succeeding DCI.
Respectfully disagree Cappy. Judges got it right. Bloo was better and earned it. Crown and BD had gold medal worthy shows, but it belonged to the extraordinary men and women of Canton Ohio in 2016.