Pit_Girl_77

It is not to late to RSVP for camp this weekend! We are going to get some snow on Wednesday, so everything will be all postcard-pretty in Dubuque for any out-of-towners that stop by :) Everyone at camp will participate in a wrap-up concert around 1:00 on Sunday. For camp details: http://www.colts.org/news/news.cfm?news_id=678

http://www.colts.org/news/news.cfm?news_id=670 The Colts are proud to announce their 2013 Color Guard Staff: Brandon Smith - Caption Head Carla Burgess-Tomsa - Color Guard Supervisor Chris Dulin - Assistant Caption Head Christopher Sparks - Lead Technician Michael Harris - Weapon Technician Steven MacAlpine - Flag Technician Danielle Marquardt - Movement/Flag Technician Brandon Smith returns to the Colts for his second season as Color Guard Caption Head and third overall with the corps. "I am very excited to continue my journey with the Colts. Marc Sylvester is a wonderful addition to the corps and I cannot wait to begin collaborating with him on the design team," stated Brandon. "Brandon is truly a Southern gentleman," said Vicki MacFarlane, Colts Director. "The structure and support built into the guard staff allow everyone to achieve the success for which the Colts color guard have become known. Brandon has incredible teaching ability, coupled with an approach that creates an environment in which our students thrive." Chris Dulin will serve the color guard as Assistant Caption Head, also in his third season with the Colts. Brandon had very positive things to say about him, "Chris and I work very well together. He has become someone that is an essential part the Colts color guard." Of his new role, Chris shared, "I am looking forward to spending my summer with the Colts. I have the opportunity to work with talented young men and women who have a passion to perform, while creating lifelong memories with our experiences." In her role as Color Guard Supervisor, Carla Burgess-Tomsa is a staple of the Colts in her eleventh season in a supervisory role. She has a wealth of knowledge about the activity and will continue guiding the staff through the duration of the season. Chris Sparks, Michael Harris, and Steven MacAlpine are Colts guard alumni and are returning for the second season on the guard staff in more defined technical capacities. New to the staff is Danielle Marquardt in the role of Movement Technician. A member of Lexis Winter Guard and alum of the Bluecoats, she brings with her strong dance technique base. Also in Brandon's thoughts were the significance of this season for the Colts organization, "This year's staff is very strong and full of individuals who are truly passionate about the activity. Coming off a strong 2012 season, I am looking forward to what the 50th Anniversary season holds." There will be a few more additions to the guard staff that will be announced soon. All interested color guard students are encouraged to attend the November 23-25 audition and clinic in Dubuque. To learn more about membership, RSVP for camp, and find the guard audition tips, CLICK HERE.

http://www.colts.org/news/news.cfm?news_id=667 Dave Nelson To Lead 2013 Colts Percussion November 1, 2012 Vicki MacFarlane, Colts Director The Colts are proud to announce the return of Dave Nelson as Percussion Caption Head for their 2013 program. Dave will begin his third year with the Colts, and second season as Percussion Caption Head and Arranger. "Dave has proven himself to be a key element to the Colts," said Vicki. "His skills, expertise and vision through design and on the field are vital to the team. Most significantly, his professionalism as an educator and his approach with the membership are what allow him to build an incredible program here." Dave is very excited about the 2013 season. "We had an incredible vibe last year, which was driven by the wonderful relationships between the membership and staff," said Nelson. "We have a strong returning core of members from last season, that coupled with the infusion of some great new talent, 2013 is going to prove to be an awesome summer! Go Red Team!" The 2013 Colts will see a number of returning faces in the percussion program in similar roles. Jon Merritt will work as an extension of Dave in the official capacity of Assistant Caption Head. Merritt joined the Red Team just as tour started in 2012. Dave had great things to say, "Jon brings so much to the percussion staff with such a deep background filled with success. We are very excited to work with him again." Learn more about Dave Nelson HERE. 2013 COLTS PERCUSSION STAFF David Nelson - Percussion Caption Head & Arranger Jon Merritt - Assistant Caption Head Jerry Carpenter - Front Ensemble Consultant Craig Myers - Front Ensemble Joe Asleson - Snares Nate Wright - Tenors Kate Lambaria - Bass Drums Hank Williams - Bass Drums Thien Pham - Cymbals Staff biographies can be found HERE All interested students are encouraged to attend the upcoming weekend audition and clinic in Dubuque. To learn more about membership, RSVP for camp, and find the percussion audition information and exercises, CLICK HERE. Merritt anticipates great things, "Dave and I are excited to make this the most incredible season for everyone involved. Do NOT miss this opportunity. This is going to be a fun ride!"

http://www.colts.org/news/news.cfm?news_id=668 Matt Mulvanny Named Colt Cadets Director November 2, 2012 Jeff MacFarlane, Executive Director Matt Mulvanny has been named as Director of the Colt Cadets Drum & Bugle Corps. A Colts alumnus from 2006, Matt has been on staff of the Colt Cadets for the past two seasons, and has taken on increasingly expanded roles. Most Colts fans would be most familiar with his video work throughout the offseason. Matt was a key figure in the marching program for Colt Cadets, and served in a significant brass capacity as well for the past two seasons. Matt's excitement for the season is unmistakable, "I'm looking forward to working alongside an instructional and design staff that continues to inspire the drum corps community every year. Their dedication to this organization, not to mention its members, is certainly a huge factor in the Colt Cadets' success. Filling the shoes of Vicki (Schaffer) MacFarlane is not a task anybody should take lightly, but with such hard working members, and support from a family of staff that gels so well together, I could not be more enthusiastic about the future of the Colt Cadets." "I'm not only excited about Matt," said Vicki MacFarlane, Colts Director, "but about the entire team of people he is surrounded by. Matt is the guy to quarterback all the details and people on and off the field, and has the capability of taking Colt Cadets to another level. He has accepted every challenge thrown his way, and is definitely prepared for the job. The biggest thing I'll miss as Colt Cadets Director is spending every day with this great group of people." CLICK HERE for more information about Matt Mulvanny. Colt Cadets will begin rehearsals in February. There is no audition requirement and membership is primarily from Dubuque and the tri-state area. More information about joining the Colt Cadets will be posted in January. PRESEASON COLT CADETS REHEARSAL SCHEDULE: (Rehearsals to be held at Jefferson Middle School and Senior High School in Dubuque, IA) Sunday, Feb 10: 12-2 pm Returning members meet at Colts Camp Sunday, Feb 17: 1-5pm Open Rehearsal Sunday, Feb 24: 1-5 pm Open Rehearsal Sunday, Mar 10: 1-5 pm Open Rehearsal Sunday, Mar 17: 1-5 pm Open Rehearsal Sunday, Mar 24: 1-5 pm Open Rehearsal Sunday, April 14: 1-5 pm Open Rehearsal Sunday, April 21: 1-5 pm Open Rehearsal Friday-Sunday, April 26-28: Battery only, 9pm Friday until 4pm Sunday Sunday, May 5: 1-5 pm Open Rehearsal Friday-Sunday, May 17-19: Overnight, 9pm Friday until 4pm Sunday

Yep! Thanks to a grant from the Dubuque Racing Association (Diamond Jo Casino/Mystique Casino) both The Colts & Colt Cadets will have new threads for 2013, designed by Michael Cesario at Fred J. Miller Inc. Here is the newest video to promote the 2013 camps, you can see the 50th Anniversary Logo at the end:

Vicki Schaffer has been the Colt Cadet dirctor for 10 years, which was part of her role as "Youth Programs Director". The reorganization of the administrative staff to put more focus on fundraising has placed Vicki in the new positions of "Director of Operations" and "Director of Colts Drm & Bugle Corps". Read more about it here: http://www.colts.org/news/news.cfm?news_id=657 Random facts of Colts/Colt Cadet staff: The Colts and Colt Cadets share quite a few staff members and volunteers during the winter/spring camp season, as they meet on different weekends. This allows for lots of individual teaching and conversations as to which corps would be the best fit for each student. Lots of brass and percussion techs work with both, and lots of current Colts members and alumni help out with Colt Cadet weekends (And quite a few staff members of CC are Colts alumni). During the summer the instructional staff is mostly set with just one corps, but the administrative staff/volunteers/BOD/etc. work together as one team to support both corps, in addition to the middle school summer band, steel drum orchestra, and other local projects. The Colts traditionally have their first camp weekend during Thanksgiving, with about one per month until Memorial Day. The Colt Cadets traditionally have their first rehearsal camps in February, and meet about every-other Sunday until May. I suspect formal staff announcements will occur in late winter for the Colt Cadets, but that is a random guess. If you are interested in trying out for the Colts or Colt Cadets, sign up for mailing list here: http://www.colts.org/info.cfm

Yep---I was one of 4 working in the Colts booth from gates open until the end of the first intermission. Lots of kids in INpact shirts (And lots of others too). The kids all seemed very happy and excited, had bags of free stuff from the music vendors, and had bags of shirts and other things from various corps. We sold a bunch of general things like drumsticks, dogtags, and shirts to the kids, and a few signed up for information on the corps (It might have helped that we had some 12-13 year old Colt Cadets helping out too!) I am sure some of these kids are now driving parents nuts spinning stuff and banging drumsticks on every available surface, and hopefully telling all their friends about it.

I did not see the performance and cannot comment on that, but I would love to see the middle school kids back in some form in future years---sovie sales to parents with kids in tee-shirts was a great way to spend the first 4 hours of the night Everyone had a bag of something in their hands, and that is all money in corps hands!

From Facebook: (Seemed like as good a reply as any to this thread...) COLTS FANS!!! We know we can rely on you! NEEDED: Well wishes for our final leg of the season. Please send all your positive thoughts and well wishes as they head into finals week to jwlennon830@gmail.com or crysj71@yahoo.com ! All will be posted on the cooktruck finals week. Lets PLASTER that truck this year! ********************************************************************** I got to see this in action last year, and it was fantastic to watch kids come out to breakfast and find a wall of love waiting for them from all over the country from parents, fans, and random people. If you have enjoyed the shows from the Colts and/or The Colt Cadets this year and are proud of any kid who made it all the way to the end, please send a quick note to the addresses above. The Colts and Colt Cadets will be together for finals, and the notes for both will be mixed together and taped up on all sides the cook-truck for all to see at our housing site. Check out our facebook page next week for photos of this great tradition.

Thanks for the great show everyone! Things went really smooth for a first-time show in our area. I will post more later, but here is a great link for photos from the local paper on all the corps: (Oskaloosa News, photographer Dennis Currier)

Updated forecast calls for 96 tomorrow, so I have a fan packed for the ticket booth :) Colt Cadets packed up for the year and left Dubuque at 6:00 tonight and are safe in Osky. Day 1 of 11 days on the road in the books, one of the longest stretches ever for this group! After Osky they head to Niles MI, then Michigan City IN, then they hook up with the Colts at Ball State for World Championships. The show tomorrow night should be great-we have sold lots of tickets to first-timers, had some grandparents of another corps pick up VIP tickets in the office today, and all preparations for the stadium are right on track. This a new stadium and a new location for drum corps, so tell everyone to come on out and make it a success!

Friday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 91. Wind: ESE at 6 mph Humidity: 59% Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 73. Sunset: 8:24 Moonrise: 9:01 (Waning Gibbous, one day past full) Gonna be a great night for drum corps!

Gates open at 3:00 p.m. Arrive early for great seats! In Competition (in reverse order of appearance): Colt Cadets, Dubuque, Iowa Blue Devils B, Concord, California Spartans, Nashua, New Hampshire Genesis, Edinburg, Texas Intermission Revolution, San Antonio, Texas Legends, Kalamazoo, Michigan Les Stentors, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada PLEASE NOTE! The Colt Cadets' 2012 "home" show is being held at Oskaloosa Community Stadium in Oskaloosa, IA (just a few minutes south of Des Moines). Dalzell Field in Dubuque is undergoing major reconstruction this summer. We plan to return to the NEW Dubuque Senior High School field in 2013. THANK YOU, in advance, to our tri-state area audience for supporting us during this unusual season. Music on the March 2 will be held at the Oskaloosa Community Stadium on Friday August 3rd at 7:00. This is the Colt Cadets final Iowa show of the season before heading to DCI Finals week. VIP tickets are $20 and include seating high and centered in the stadium, a $5.00 coupon towards the Colts Sovie Stand, a VIP parking pass to park in closest parking lot, and a VIP badge to show all your friends how cool you are! General admission tickets for this event are $12, and the seats are first/come, first/chosen, so arrive early for the best ones! The ticket booth, will-call window, and stadium will open at 3:00 the day of the show. Visa/MasterCard/Discover will be accepted at the ticket both, but for faster service cash is recommended. Children 3 years old and younger do not need a ticket to enter the stadium. You can still order advance tickets on-line through Thursday night, and they will be held at the will-call window at the stadium. Tickets ordered before Sunday July 29th were mailed out. For more stadium information and to purchase tickets: http://www.colts.org/mom2.asp

GET IT RED TEAM!!!! The Colt Cadets are cheering you on from an Open-Class show day in Paw Paw MI :)

GO RED TEAM!!!! COLTS TAKE THE FIELD!!! but first...giving away some more tickets! So far tonight they gave away Royals Baseball tickets, concert tickets, now time for DCI finals tickets :)

BD is taking the field now, great crowd reaction to Boston. (Missed most of the rest working tickets) Full house, weather is amazing nice for Kansas in July!

Brass Impact Brass Impact tonight in Olathe Kansas! Tickets on sale at the stadium at 4:00, very limited seats inside the 25s are left. Tickets start at $15, VIP tickets are $40 and include a parking pass for the closest lot, $5 concession coupon, and the best seats in the house under the pressbox. This is a great stadium 30 rows high with a grass field and stands that face east and away from the sun. We have huge concession stands setting up right now for the night, and the Colts and Colt Cadets are right across the street. Show start time is 7:30 with the Colt Cadets. (30 minute delay announced last week due to heat.) College Blvd. Activity Center 11031 S. Valley Pkwy. Olathe, KS Performing Corps Line-up is in reverse order of appearance. Colts - Dubuque, IA Blue Devils - Concord, CA Boston Crusaders - Boston, MA Spirit of Atlanta - Atlanta, GA Blue Stars - La Crosse, WI Madison Scouts - Madison, WI The Academy - Tempe, AZ Colt Cadets - Dubuque, IA (PS-it is pronounced O-Layth-A, quick tip so you sound like a local when you come to the show!)

Geneseo High School has a group of kids attending the show, AND.... The Geneseo Knights have a reunion group of 40+ attending too! Very cool

Tickets start at $15 and are available at the gate anytime after 4:00. Grab 9 friends and I can still get you a group discount, just find me at the booth before the show Colts will be rehearsing at the show site during the day, so come early---the weather is perfect for drum corps!

I am not sure what the kids are doing in the way of fees, but I know we have a board member working with some Colts Alumni to cover some expenses specifically for the new members. We had the understudy program in place before Teal and Racine had problems, and I suspect that is the contract any new members will be using: http://www.colts.org/news/news.cfm?news_id=626 (Link includes updated mail drops too, just scroll down a bit, I know anything mailed to "Teal Alumni" or something similar in the name spot would get to the correct kiddos if you wanted to send a letter of encouragement)

Thanks! The Colts are in Davenport Iowa right now, with their "Home" show tomorrow night at Brady Street Stadium after a great show last night in Waukee. The tour director was in the Dubuque office this moring getting medical forms and other things for our newest members. I am not sure on the total number we have added the past couple days, but we do have several new members in Davenport right now. If anyone else is looking to join The Colts, please check out our website and fill out the application: http://www.colts.org/memberapp.cfm This will get you on the radar of the caption heads, and get us the contact info for you. Then contact me (Barb) at the office and I will get you the best cell phone number of who to talk to on staff in your section. Our office phone is 563-582-4872 (It is ringing off the hook with ticket sales right now, so leave a voice message if you don't get me right away). No one will be in the office on Thursday as we will be in Davenport for the show, but we will have cell phone contact information on the voicemail system. Thanks for all your support! -Barb

Show Day!!! Welcome back to Iowa Colts

CELEBRATION IN BRASS Tuesday, July 10, 2012 Waukee High School Stadium 555 SE University Ave. Waukee, IA 50263 Line-up is in reverse order of appearance. Colts - Dubuque, IA Blue Devils - Concord, CA Santa Clara Vanguard - Santa Clara, CA Boston Crusaders - Boston, MA The Academy - Tempe, AZ Cascades - Seattle, WA Colt Cadets - Dubuque, IA Great seats in ALL SECTIONS will be available at the main gate beginning at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon. If you ordered tickets online prior to July 5th, you should have received them by mail. All tickets purchased after July 5th will be available at the Will Call window outside the main gate, which will be open no later than 4:00. Tuesday housing sites: Adel-DeSoto-Minburn HS – Santa Clara Vanguard Atlantic HS – Blue Devils Colfax-Mingo HS – Colt Cadets Creston HS – Boston Crusaders Pella HS – The Academy Lamoni HS – Cascades Waukee HS – The Colts Weather Forecast: Sunny with a high of 86, 83 at 7:00 PM, zero chance of rain

One of the bank signs in Dubuque read 105 when the Colt Cadets pulled out of town. Yuck!

The Colt Cadets had a fantastic stand-still concert last night in a local Dubuque park, and have been working hard on the field all week. If you saw the show before, look for some great new things tonight! (And if you have not seen it yet....don't miss it! The first 2 minutes may have one of the best crowd-reaction moments in open class this year)