DeanInChicago

For Sale: Several black fabric changing rooms to turn your white swan self into a black swan meanie. Only used for part of the season - proved to be too distracting to everything else going on at the sale. For Sale: Outtakes of "The Office" in which The Cadet's narrator interjects "That's what he said." For Sale: Championship show wardrobe racks filled with glamorous frocks. Ideal for Oscar night or SAG awards. For Sale: Blue Stars futon. Toss your equipment and catch it on the other side. That's what he said.

5:00 PM - Gates Open 6:20 PM - Welcome/Anthem (Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps) 6:47 PM - Defenders 7:04 PM - Jersey Surf 7:21 PM - Mandarins 7:38 PM - The Academy 7:55 PM - Spirit of Atlanta 8:12 PM - Troopers 8:29 PM - Intermission - 17 min. 8:46 PM - Crossmen 9:03 PM - Madison Scouts 9:20 PM - Carolina Crown 9:37 PM - The Cavaliers 9:54 PM - Bluecoats 10:11 PM - The Cadets 10:28 PM - Bridgemen Alumni

5:00 PM - Gates Open 5:45 PM - Xcape Dance Ensembles 6:30 PM - Crimson Kings 6:47 PM - Cavalcade of Bands Honor Band 7:04 PM - Pioneer 7:21 PM - Cascades 7:38 PM - Oregon Crusaders 7:55 PM - Pacific Crest 8:12 PM - Colts 8:29 PM - Intermission - 17 min. 8:46 PM - Blue Stars 9:03 PM - Blue Knights 9:20 PM - Boston Crusaders 9:37 PM - Phantom Regiment 9:54 PM - Santa Clara Vanguard 10:11 PM - Blue Devils

Fred's Chamber of Commerce listings are great! Here are more Allentown and stadium recommendations: 1. Check into your hotel BEFORE the Friday show. This way, you lessen the chance of any problems with a late night check-in. 2. Eat at a diner. There are at least a half dozen in the area. My favorite is the Sunrise Diner - a 3 to 5 minute drive from downtown Allentown en route to Quakerstown. 3. The Allentown Fairgrounds has excellent desserts, pizza, haircuts, and tchotchkes. 4. Best parking for the show is on Chew Street. This is two roads behind the grandstand, on the other side of Greenwood Cemetery. On-street parking in both directions. I usually park here early, then meander over to the fairgrounds to load up on pickles. 5. Some of the entrance ramps onto route 22 are very, very short. Be prepared. Traffic often slows each day in the late afternoon with so many people leaving work, or starting their weekend. 6. I usually make the drive towards Reading on Saturday, with quarters and one dollar bills, and do much friendly haggling at the barn sales, yard sales, and garage sales. Bring a second, empty suitcase. Be proud of your hoarding. 7. For the past several years, the stadium personnel has allowed ticketholders to bring in small coolers, large bags of Fritos, full-size pizzas, and whatever. 8. There is great stadium food each year! I've promised Mike Boo I would schlep a root beer snowcone down to him this year at the corps entry gate. 9. The men's washroom near the grandstand/food vendors is almost always a sauna. Yuck. So, when Boo gets his snowcone, it's also an ideal time to visit the corps entry gate washroom - that washroom is mostly near empty with cooler temperatures. 10. And finally, each year, I see at least two people fall in the upper deck stands. Gain your balance, and move slowly, before navigating the stairs to and from your seat.

Intermission ! What are the standout concession items? Nachos? Fresca? Coney Dogs?

What was expected as a nasty weather night turned out to be bad winds only. 6PM start appreciated on a Sunday night. The Classic Cavaliers (14-16 horns) handsomely entertained on the concourse with several great brass-only numbers before the contest. The Banner was sung with good pitch by a female vocalist. Chrome domes Racine Scouts opened the evening. Good arrangement of "Always Chasing Rainbows." The Troopers had perfect timing with their introductory narrated announcement ... and this is not an exact quote .... but something about "knocking down the house" ... and right on cue, several front panels toppled over in the fierce wind. Fun pinwheels on the 50. This show has beautiful drill, and will be appreciated more from higher seats in big venues. Lincoln's portrait is difficult to make out in small stadiums. The flag movements are wonderful throughout this program. The flags in the Blue Stars Moving Day show reminded me of old bedsheets from Zayre. Or Ayr-Way. Or Woolco. Or grandma's third string linens. Hooted over the rifle tosses above the futon-couch-sofa-davenport. The guard nailed several well-timed tosses. There is a bit of Salvation Army furniture in this show. The front panels also toppled over in the wind, so it was amazing to see how lickety-split fast the blue movers garb came off, and the usual uniform appeared. There are times when Madison's dizzying drill is thrilling to watch. When the guard's psychedelic colors appear, this is a great contrast against the horn's white uniforms. This is not an emotional Madison show as is years past, but the groovy music is a thrill to hear. One of the best things about Lisle is the concession's beer. Tall, cold beer. Bought a XL Blue Devils Rite of Spring t-shirt for $5. At the start of Phantom Regiment, about 5 staff helped corral the flapping front black panels. Then the Blue Devils put on a guard clinic, WOW! Must see this show again. Lots to enjoy. The Cavaliers haunting music is ideal for their immortal theme. Sinister flag work. A few brass splats during the ending. * * * * Excellent stadium PA announcer from local ABC channel 7 news. Later, on the 10PM Sunday night Chicago newscast, a short montage played at the tail end of the broadcast of Phantom Regiment, Blue Devils, and Madison.

What was expected as a nasty weather night turned out to be bad winds only. 6PM start appreciated on a Sunday night. The Classic Cavaliers (14-16 horns) handsomely entertained on the concourse with several great brass-only numbers before the contest. The Banner was sung with good pitch by a female vocalist. Chrome domes Racine Scouts opened the evening. Good arrangement of "Always Chasing Rainbows." The Troopers had perfect timing with their introductory narrated announcement ... and this is not an exact quote .... but something about "knocking down the house" ... and right on cue, several front panels toppled over in the fierce wind. Fun pinwheels on the 50. This show has beautiful drill, and will be appreciated more from higher seats in big venues. Lincoln's portrait is difficult to make out in small stadiums. The flag movements are wonderful throughout this program. The flags in the Blue Stars Moving Day show reminded me of old bedsheets from Zayre. Or Ayr-Way. Or Woolco. Or grandma's third string linens. Hooted over the rifle tosses above the futon-couch-sofa-davenport. The guard nailed several well-timed tosses. There is a bit of Salvation Army furniture in this show. The front panels also toppled over in the wind, so it was amazing to see how lickety-split fast the blue movers garb came off, and the usual uniform appeared. There are times when Madison's dizzying drill is thrilling to watch. When the guard's psychedelic colors appear, this is a great contrast against the horn's white uniforms. This is not an emotional Madison show as is years past, but the groovy music is a thrill to hear. One of the best things about Lisle is the concession's beer. Tall, cold beer. Bought a XL Blue Devils Rite of Spring t-shirt for $5. At the start of Phantom Regiment, about 5 staff helped corral the flapping front black panels. Then the Blue Devils put on a guard clinic, WOW! Must see this show again. Lots to enjoy. The Cavaliers haunting music is ideal for their immortal theme. Sinister flag work. A few brass splats during the ending. * * * * Excellent stadium PA announcer from local ABC channel 7 news. Later, on the 10PM Sunday night Chicago newscast, a short montage played at the tail end of the broadcast of Phantom Regiment, Blue Devils, and Madison.

Twas a great night of drum corps at beautiful Ames Field. I had the annual panic attack of when this 7 PM show started. Was Ames Field on Central Time or Eastern Time? Luckily, there was an Indiana map in the car, which included a kooky dividing line through the northwest part of Indiana. Rensselaer and Hebron are on Central Time, but how about Michigan City? How many fans show up an hour early, thinking that Michigan City is on Alllentown time? Ames Field is a great venue each year for this Cavaliers-hosted show. There are surround-sound neighborhood fireworks at dusk, a DQ due east from the stadium, and end-of-night half price concessions, where brats drop from $3.50 to $1.75, and whole Domino's pizzas fall from $10 to $5. "I remember this bathroom," someone said in the men's room. And another dude replied, "I hope they were good memories." The Michigan CIty High School band played the Banner, in full uniform. It was a comfortable night, weather-wise, Open Class corps Legends opened the show, followed by Colt Cadets and Genesis. At the end of the terrific Genesis show, several of us in the stands asked, "Is this an Open Class or World Class corps?" Genesis received a genuine standing ovation at the end of their wonderful program. At intermission, we were treated to a small toy drone plane hovering above the field. The PA system was on the near-fritz all evening, with barely audible announcements. The sound was excellent behind the grandstand, just not in the grandstand. The Colts show included creamy flag work, dreamy musical charts, and very distracting narration. One can readily tell this Oz show through music. Allow the music to tell the story. In the DCI marketplace, the Colts are selling last season T-shirts for 5 bucks, but my torso is not S not 3XL. Sigh. The Troopers have another Troopers show - and the crowd loves it. In this tale, the opening narration works. A week ago, the Troopers souvie stand added handsome $15 business card cases - but I am convinced they should market them as Abe Lincoln coin holders. I plan to stock my case with chewing gum, mints, or shiny pennies. When I watched the DCI at the Movies event on June 23, it looked like the Phantom Regiment guard ended the show in brown. But in person, the guard is now in a more appropriate black. Maybe there was just an old picture tube at AMC East that night. Or Akron smog. Excellent flag work. Good brass, yet not spine-tingling. At the conclusion of this show, please lower the hem line on the black robe on the last swan, down to the turf, to hide her bird legs. Cavaliers, Immortal. Indeed. Loved it. Do yourseld a favor, and do NOT watch the marimba circular chase bit - but watch what the rest of the corps is doing. WOW! Fantastic drill. * * * * * A great night of music. Hoping for the same in Lisle - where thunderstorms are expected Sunday night.

And no track. Bliss.

Geeeze. There is no way I expect to see a full, complete show at the start of the season. The first time you made spaghetti, was the tenderness of the pasta just right? Just within the past 20 days, what mistakes did you make at your job? Did you floss yesterday? Me neither. The DCI Champion is announced August 9, But before then, EVERYONE will be adding new movements, GE flourishes, a varied volume here, a different spin there. Some will add different flags. And yes, a few will add movement to a temporary standstill. In Phantom Regiment's Spartacus show, the drum major wasn't killed until Allentown, just one week before Finals. In Crown's Rach Star program, Herbert didn't smash the guitars until Finals. In the Cadets Christmas show, wasn't the original opening "Hark the Herald Angels Sing?" Santa Clara added Mr Mojo. The Blue Devils unzipped their jackets late in the season for "When a man loves a woman .... " Certainly, a complete end-of-season show is more zesty than these June previews. Fine with me.

Hello June 21 travellers to Plainwell, Michigan instead of Akron, Ohio ... Chicago summer camps have started! I need a BREAK! Calgon, take me away. Looking forward to a great night, north of Kalamazoo.

Listed in reverse order of performance. Bluecoats - Canton, OH Carolina Crown - Ft. Mill, SC The Cadets - Allentown, PA Phantom Regiment - Rockford, IL Boston Crusaders - Boston, MA Madison Scouts - Madison, WI The Cavaliers - Rosemont, IL From DCI.org

This is a great line-up ! The Troopers appearance makes total sense, as they have been rehearsing in Indiana for several weeks. They marched in the Indy 500 parade over Memorial Day Weekend. Four months ago, at the Feb 22-23 weekend WGI show at Ben Davis HS, there was a great poster/display in the souvie section about the DCI opening night show across from the Dip'n Dots lady. Congrats to the fans who can attend Opening Night.

Thank you for the recaps! Though my heart wants to vote for the Troopers for making it into finals, I especially liked Spirit's Film Noir program. Their opening sequence of the projector was very imaginative in its layout and sound. And at Finals that year, the Spirit souvie stand was selling the front sideline movie boards at intermission.

Would you have the time to share a brief recap of what each of these Top 12 and 12th place productions were? Surveys are awesome, but my memory on this topic is near zilch.

Five Past individual Superstars ! First, a confession, I do not have an encyclopedic knowledge of names nor dates, just an assortment of memories 1. Herbert in the Crown guard for several seasons 2. pit member Rachael (Rachel?) with the woodblocks in SCV's Miss Saigon show 3. the Colts solo male twirler from several years ago - giant stunts ! 4. Glassmen's brass soloist with the megalong solos - again several years ago 5. At the Dallas Cotton Bowl finals, the gentleman who announced "I am a Trooper"

As a sidenote to generous individuals who donate monies to United Way, St Judes, American Red Cross, or other causes, may I please alert you to one transaction headache. If you have informed your fundraiser to deduct a dollar from each of your payroll checks for the year ... 24 or 26 checks in most cases .... the administration costs are too high to make this a meaningful pledge. There is monthly review, reconciliation, transferred monies, balance monitoring, etc. Instead, DO MAKE that $24 or $26 pledge, but make the payroll deduction come out of just ONE check. Your one-time gift has a much higher value.

For the Murphreesboro show, I recommend that you reserve a hotel in town, and check in before the show. I think you will be more relaxed, knowing that you have successfully checked in. There is a slightly higher risk for surprises with a late night check in. Unexpected things can happen that day. Rooms may be suddenly unavailable. By checking In before the TN show, you are allowing yourself to resolve any possible problems with the hotel before your drive to Floyd Stadium. If you do not like sleeping near an elevator or facing a busy highway, your chances of getting a better room are much higher in the afternoon than late at night. Wishing you a wonderful room.

A Wawa hoagie is like a Village Pantry submarine, but in the East Coast market.

Am I the only one who has been salivating for MONTHS, waiting for a first drum corps fix Saturday, June 21 in Plainwell, Michigan? It's a general admission show with $25 tickets sold at the gate. Blue Stars, Colts, Colt Cadets, Legends, Pioneer, Spirit of Atlanta, and Troopers. This performance has been propelled from Paw Paw to Plainwell. Plainwell is north of Kalamazoo on route 131.

Thank you for sharing. It is so great to hear this inspiration. For many summers, I took Aunt Marge to the Pageant of Drums show in Michigan City, where we would grab ground-level seats. It is an amazing view from this perspective, as flags, rifles, sabres, and other equipment are tossed high above eye-level. Check out the shows in your area this summer: most stadiums have great viewing spaces for wheelchaired guests. At the Monday, June 23 DCI at the Movies event, I will again love sitting close to the screen at AMC East in Chicago. You really get an IMAX type feel, and the camera work is steady - it is not headache-inducing. There should be a DCI at the Movies event in your area on June 23. Your cousin may also want to check out WGI shows. Tarps galore, but incredible artistry.

Which drum corps has appeared on a Wheatie's box? Do drum corps musicians wear athletic cups? Besides DCI, are there other sports where the paying spectators mostly sit on just one side of the venue? Do NASCAR fans throw babies? If the local newspaper has a write-up about Soaring Sounds or Cavalcade of Brass, is the story in the sports pages?

Though I appreciate this idea, I prefer having an offseason of DCI, as well as having an offseason with many other activities. I love college basketball, but I do not want it year-round. The White Sox home opener is Monday, March 31, launching a 6-month schedule with games against the crosstown Cubs, Boston, Yankees, Detroit, and more. But come September, I'm ready to put away my Rawlings scorecard. In Music 101, we were taught that the rests on the stanza were just as important as the notes. The Greatest Show on Earth has an intermission. Passover starts at sundown, April 14. Say good-bye to Girl Scout Cookies for a whole week! Interstate 5 has rest stops. I-35 has rest stops. I-65 has rest stops. I-95 has rest stops. In the DCI offseason, picture a blank football field with its green grass ...... and let your imagination wander.

Will the Paw Paw Michigan show on June 21 be rained out? Will the June 23 DCI at the Movies event again reveal that Akron is a must-visit destination? Will Ames Field at Michigan City serve walking tacos on July 5? Will Madison sell trombone T-shirts at their souvenir stand in Lisle July 6? Will the DeKalb Huskie Stadium staff allow concession food/drinks into the seats on July 13? Will the snow-cone stand in Allentown August 1-2 have sour apple flavor? Before the Indy Finals August 9, will the tenderloin sandwich at the Slippery Noodle taste heavenly?

Greetings all ye leprechauns. The Allentown 2-night tickets have arrived in my mailbox. Friday, August 1, 2013 Saturday, August 2, 2014 I assume the gate will accept the misprinted Friday tickets, but I will contact the Indy office on Monday to confirm.