Fred Windish Posted July 30, 2015 Author Share Posted July 30, 2015 BariBone, yes the first DCI-East was telecast on TV39 (of Bethlehem). It was live local, edited delay on every other PBS station that chose to purchase it. The same year, the DCA Championship was broadcast from Allentown by the same station. That was the first, and only national PBS broadcast of DCA. I served as one of the Producers for both productions. All station copies of those broadcasts were destroyed after a 25 year archival period. The DCA show is extremely rare. Home video recording equipment then was scarce and expensive. My Sony Betamax was $1300 at the time ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeanInChicago Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 It's great returning to Allentown each year. Best parking is on Chew Street, which is 2 parallel blocks behind the grandstand. We Chew Street regulars like to show up each night about the same time as the 5PM gates open. Nearby: towering stadium lights. That's the direction to go! There is a safe alley that borders Greenwood Cemetery en route to the show. There are majestic pines near the top gate, and the turf will soon come into view as you enter our national drum corps park. You will see the same welcoming ticket takers as last year, and the year before that. You will soon realize that the very old stadium lower seating is built into the hill. You will meander through the souvenir village: you will buy fifteen T-shirts from every trailer, add cash to everyone's fuel collection plates, and be vastly entertained by the Jersey Surf salesman. May I please recommend the washrooms near the corps entry gate: these washrooms are almost always empty they are not at sauna temperatures like the ones atop the hill you can wave or share a quick hello to Michael Boo whilst he interviews corps staff you will schlep a root beer snow cone to Michael, cause you know he will always welcome a root beer snow cone Unlike modern arenas, you can bring almost any possible food inside the Crum gates: whole cheese pizzas, a carton of addictive Nutter Butters, 2-liter Coke Zero, and from the nearby Allentown fairgrounds on Chew: winsome pickles and delicious banana pudding. In the upper deck, middle section R, there are always a few fans who sneak their way into the can't-sell-for-safety-reasons seats found immediately beneath the judge's platforms. Later each night, after a few of the early performances, the inside-the-forty ticket seller will sit in an unsold seat near the front of R. And right before his favorite show of the season, he will stand up and proudly proclaim that THIS is the show to watch. "THIS is a real drum corps show." or something along those lines. And he will ALWAYS be right, in my heartfelt estimation. You will meet many friendly fans. You will profusely apologize to the guest in front of you that you keep knee'ing. You will savor the relaxing pace of a 2-night outdoor show, seeing all the World Class Corps near the peak of the season. You will realize how lucky you are to be goin' back to Allentown. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajlemm Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 It's great returning to Allentown each year. Best parking is on Chew Street, which is 2 parallel blocks behind the grandstand. We Chew Street regulars like to show up each night about the same time as the 5PM gates open. Nearby: towering stadium lights. That's the direction to go! There is a safe alley that borders Greenwood Cemetery en route to the show. There are majestic pines near the top gate, and the turf will soon come into view as you enter our national drum corps park. You will see the same welcoming ticket takers as last year, and the year before that. You will soon realize that the very old stadium lower seating is built into the hill. You will meander through the souvenir village: you will buy fifteen T-shirts from every trailer, add cash to everyone's fuel collection plates, and be vastly entertained by the Jersey Surf salesman. May I please recommend the washrooms near the corps entry gate: these washrooms are almost always empty they are not at sauna temperatures like the ones atop the hill you can wave or share a quick hello to Michael Boo whilst he interviews corps staff you will schlep a root beer snow cone to Michael, cause you know he will always welcome a root beer snow cone Unlike modern arenas, you can bring almost any possible food inside the Crum gates: whole cheese pizzas, a carton of addictive Nutter Butters, 2-liter Coke Zero, and from the nearby Allentown fairgrounds on Chew: winsome pickles and delicious banana pudding. In the upper deck, middle section R, there are always a few fans who sneak their way into the can't-sell-for-safety-reasons seats found immediately beneath the judge's platforms. Later each night, after a few of the early performances, the inside-the-forty ticket seller will sit in an unsold seat near the front of R. And right before his favorite show of the season, he will stand up and proudly proclaim that THIS is the show to watch. "THIS is a real drum corps show." or something along those lines. And he will ALWAYS be right, in my heartfelt estimation. You will meet many friendly fans. You will profusely apologize to the guest in front of you that you keep knee'ing. You will savor the relaxing pace of a 2-night outdoor show, seeing all the World Class Corps near the peak of the season. You will realize how lucky you are to be goin' back to Allentown. Wow, did you capture that well! I've only been there twice, but this man speaks truth! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rpbobcat Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 My wife and I have been going to the Easts for longer then we'd like to admit. A couple of comments on previous posts. 1.We were hoping the Bones' cherry picker entrance would become permanent. The first year it wasn't there we talked to a couple of Crossmen Alums about it. They told us that Allentown had put the kibosh on it for safety reasons. 2.Franklin Field was not the best venue for Drum Corps. But one year Blast was playing Philly when the Easts were at Franklin Field. The Sat. matinee was all Drum Corps fans and the cast knew it. Then that night a bunch of that cast came to the Easts. My wife and I said that the Sat. night performance was down to a drum, horn a couple of flags. 3.Still remember when they had the upper stands closed, sitting on the hill to get a high view. 4.One pet peeve I do have is with their seat monitors. Geez,you go to a Broadway play and you can get seated during a performance,but not for drum corps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorpsRelic Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 Hey Fred, thanks for the detailed Allentown Crum Stadium update/status report. Yeh, I'll second a meet up at StadiumRelic. Cheers Mate, Dennis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corps8294 Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 Which corps are performing tomorrow? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 With the "curved" lower seating area, I remember the Allentown stadium being one of the few that you could sit out on the 10-yard line or so and still get a good view, and good dose of sound from the corps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajlemm Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 With the "curved" lower seating area, I remember the Allentown stadium being one of the few that you could sit out on the 10-yard line or so and still get a good view, and good dose of sound from the corps.Heck, you can stand in line for the bathrooms at the field entrance and you are only a few yards away from the corps on the field! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 edit: I remember when this was a one day event with prelims..lol Me too. I've only been to this show in Allentown a relative handful of times... but went a few times just for prelims. We'd get there really early in the AM... get a ticket (one-price general admission for prelims back then)... and when the gates opened, ran like crazy into the seating area, ending up with great seats!!! I had the privilege of doing the PA announcing work for DCI East the two years it was held in Philadelphia... 2001-2002... and the last time I attended the show was in '07. One of these years, I'll get back there!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old drmmjr Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 It's great returning to Allentown each year. Best parking is on Chew Street, which is 2 parallel blocks behind the grandstand. We Chew Street regulars like to show up each night about the same time as the 5PM gates open. Nearby: towering stadium lights. That's the direction to go! There is a safe alley that borders Greenwood Cemetery en route to the show. There are majestic pines near the top gate, and the turf will soon come into view as you enter our national drum corps park. You will see the same welcoming ticket takers as last year, and the year before that. You will soon realize that the very old stadium lower seating is built into the hill. You will meander through the souvenir village: you will buy fifteen T-shirts from every trailer, add cash to everyone's fuel collection plates, and be vastly entertained by the Jersey Surf salesman. May I please recommend the washrooms near the corps entry gate: these washrooms are almost always empty they are not at sauna temperatures like the ones atop the hill you can wave or share a quick hello to Michael Boo whilst he interviews corps staff you will schlep a root beer snow cone to Michael, cause you know he will always welcome a root beer snow cone Unlike modern arenas, you can bring almost any possible food inside the Crum gates: whole cheese pizzas, a carton of addictive Nutter Butters, 2-liter Coke Zero, and from the nearby Allentown fairgrounds on Chew: winsome pickles and delicious banana pudding. In the upper deck, middle section R, there are always a few fans who sneak their way into the can't-sell-for-safety-reasons seats found immediately beneath the judge's platforms. Later each night, after a few of the early performances, the inside-the-forty ticket seller will sit in an unsold seat near the front of R. And right before his favorite show of the season, he will stand up and proudly proclaim that THIS is the show to watch. "THIS is a real drum corps show." or something along those lines. And he will ALWAYS be right, in my heartfelt estimation. You will meet many friendly fans. You will profusely apologize to the guest in front of you that you keep knee'ing. You will savor the relaxing pace of a 2-night outdoor show, seeing all the World Class Corps near the peak of the season. You will realize how lucky you are to be goin' back to Allentown. This describes Allentown perfectly!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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