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I earmarked this show early on as one I might go to. Why? It would be my only chance to see Sun on-field this season, and I really wanted to get a good look at them. I looked at the tickets for the center top, and well, I did get a bit of sticker shock. I decided to think about everything and weigh it out before I got uppity, and I'm glad I did. Let's start with all of that, since it's something to weigh of you go to Clifton and want a really good seat.

Yes, the VIP ticket at Clifton was more than the cost of similar seating that I got at D-Town, Scranton, and for Big Sounds combined.

Again, I thought about it, and spent some time at work thinking about it for most of July. Where I work, one needs something positive to think about.

I figured with the size of the contest, the food voucher, the VIP parking, the Brothers of Funk, Alumni exhibitions, it dawned on me.

The Bushwackers were trying to stage an event, something more than the normal. I figure that I've paid about the same price for a VIP ticket to Mid-Ohio for the IndyCar/TUDOR races and for cheap seats at NASCAR, so, let's give it a try and see what it's like. :satisfied:

I'm convinced the VIP tickets had very good value. I'm sure some folks are thinking- "HOW?"

I'll tell you what I figured:

Parking, which from observation is a bit of a ripping pan around this stadium, was worth 10 to 15 bucks. I got a place right next to the entrance tunnel. I got out really quickly as a result. To pay to park for some top end big city restaurants , about that much. A parking ticket if you screw up when you try and park or try and get away with it, would cost a lot more, and there were Police cruisers making sure the area around the stadium was safe and okay, and also to by my guess tag any illegal parkers in the surrounding neighborhood. :satisfied:

You get a nice 10 dollar concession stand voucher. The food at this show beats Scranton's by a mile. It's excellent as band/Corps show stadium food goes. I've usually eaten when I get to D-Town and Reading so I'm not hungry, so I really can't compare though the grill at D-Town smells really good. For my 10 bucks, I got a very nice quality Cheeseburger (It had to have been- low quality burger meat makes me really, really ill since the Gall Bladder issues...) and get this- they offer a 64 ounce bottle of Iced Tea of your choice of flavors with a couple big cups of ice. Man, they know the way to a Baritone Player's heart. Given the length of the day and the heat, it was perfect. :satisfied:

You also got 6 free raffle tickets worth 6 bucks with very nice prizes (Cruise voucher- nice 32 inch TV!).

Aaaaand.... a 25% off coupon at the Bushwacker swag table. I got a nice Bush T-Shirt for about 5 bucks off retail.

Right there is 30 bucks in value out of the ticket.

I'm not done. :satisfied:

Factor in 2 sets of Al Chez and the Brothers of Funk. (Very fun,superb, BTW) What's a ticket to see them normally gonna cost yah? My guess is, 20? More? They're worth at least that. :satisfied:

The stadiums very, very well kept and clean (I've seen some NJ/NY/PA HS stadiums that are not and look like a war-torn zone from the Video Game World of Tanks after my King Tiger's rumbled though the stands and blasted the concession stand with my long 88 because some opponent's trying to hide behind it with his Sherman...), the team running it are every bit as prepared, helpful, kind, and professional as I have ran into with the shows out my way, so yes, I think it's a very good value. Expensive, yes, but still a very good value. I wanted to make sure I spelled that out as positively as I could for everyone and to make sure at least from my personal perspective that the Bush people know that at least one person feels that way for certain. :satisfied:

A lot of us old timers will tell war stories about some of the really, really.. well... not-so good venues we competed in with DCA and other circuits in the past. We laugh about it now and shake our heads, but looking at the experience now as compared to some of the shows BITD, it's so much better. CRAZY better, and I am appreciative of that. there may be less contests- but at least the corps members today won't be talking about marching a show with 22 people in the stands in some ramshackle stadium where the PA system squawks feedback and the lights explode in showers of sparks during the performances. :satisfied:

Okay- I've set up the show. What happened there? A LOT. I'll get this done later, but I need to take care of some things. Please be patient!

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I earmarked this show early on as one I might go to. Why? It would be my only chance to see Sun on-field this season, and I really wanted to get a good look at them. I looked at the tickets for the center top, and well, I did get a bit of sticker shock. I decided to think about everything and weigh it out before I got uppity, and I'm glad I did. Let's start with all of that, since it's something to weigh of you go to Clifton and want a really good seat.

Yes, the VIP ticket at Clifton was more than the cost of similar seating that I got at D-Town, Scranton, and for Big Sounds combined.

Again, I thought about it, and spent some time at work thinking about it for most of July. Where I work, one needs something positive to think about.

I figured with the size of the contest, the food voucher, the VIP parking, the Brothers of Funk, Alumni exhibitions, it dawned on me.

The Bushwackers were trying to stage an event, something more than the normal. I figure that I've paid about the same price for a VIP ticket to Mid-Ohio for the IndyCar/TUDOR races and for cheap seats at NASCAR, so, let's give it a try and see what it's like. :satisfied:

I'm convinced the VIP tickets had very good value. I'm sure some folks are thinking- "HOW?"

I'll tell you what I figured:

Parking, which from observation is a bit of a ripping pan around this stadium, was worth 10 to 15 bucks. I got a place right next to the entrance tunnel. I got out really quickly as a result. To pay to park for some top end big city restaurants , about that much. A parking ticket if you screw up when you try and park or try and get away with it, would cost a lot more, and there were Police cruisers making sure the area around the stadium was safe and okay, and also to by my guess tag any illegal parkers in the surrounding neighborhood. :satisfied:

You get a nice 10 dollar concession stand voucher. The food at this show beats Scranton's by a mile. It's excellent as band/Corps show stadium food goes. I've usually eaten when I get to D-Town and Reading so I'm not hungry, so I really can't compare though the grill at D-Town smells really good. For my 10 bucks, I got a very nice quality Cheeseburger (It had to have been- low quality burger meat makes me really, really ill since the Gall Bladder issues...) and get this- they offer a 64 ounce bottle of Iced Tea of your choice of flavors with a couple big cups of ice. Man, they know the way to a Baritone Player's heart. Given the length of the day and the heat, it was perfect. :satisfied:

You also got 6 free raffle tickets worth 6 bucks with very nice prizes (Cruise voucher- nice 32 inch TV!).

Aaaaand.... a 25% off coupon at the Bushwacker swag table. I got a nice Bush T-Shirt for about 5 bucks off retail.

Right there is 30 bucks in value out of the ticket.

I'm not done. :satisfied:

Factor in 2 sets of Al Chez and the Brothers of Funk. (Very fun,superb, BTW) What's a ticket to see them normally gonna cost yah? My guess is, 20? More? They're worth at least that. :satisfied:

The stadiums very, very well kept and clean (I've seen some NJ/NY/PA HS stadiums that are not and look like a war-torn zone from the Video Game World of Tanks after my King Tiger's rumbled though the stands and blasted the concession stand with my long 88 because some opponent's trying to hide behind it with his Sherman...), the team running it are every bit as prepared, helpful, kind, and professional as I have ran into with the shows out my way, so yes, I think it's a very good value. Expensive, yes, but still a very good value. I wanted to make sure I spelled that out as positively as I could for everyone and to make sure at least from my personal perspective that the Bush people know that at least one person feels that way for certain. :satisfied:

A lot of us old timers will tell war stories about some of the really, really.. well... not-so good venues we competed in with DCA and other circuits in the past. We laugh about it now and shake our heads, but looking at the experience now as compared to some of the shows BITD, it's so much better. CRAZY better, and I am appreciative of that. there may be less contests- but at least the corps members today won't be talking about marching a show with 22 people in the stands in some ramshackle stadium where the PA system squawks feedback and the lights explode in showers of sparks during the performances. :satisfied:

Okay- I've set up the show. What happened there? A LOT. I'll get this done later, but I need to take care of some things. Please be patient!

In 3 months?...lol

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I'm convinced the VIP tickets had very good value. I'm sure some folks are thinking- "HOW?"

I'll tell you what I figured:

Parking, which from observation is a bit of a ripping pan around this stadium, was worth 10 to 15 bucks. I got a place right next to the entrance tunnel.:satisfied:

And if I knew what you looked like, I would have said Hi! I was tasked with being the bad guy working the VIP lot from 2-6. :)

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Thank you BigW! A lot of people put in a lot of time and effort to make this work. We appreciate the fact you appreciated the effort and value for what you got. We tried to think out of the box and did this show the way we did it. Thank you for hitting the nail on the head. In the end, drum corps wins. See you next year!

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Wonderful review so far and we shared this on our show committee FB page. As John said, we thought outside of the box to host an EVENT, not just a drum corps show. Glad you had such an enjoyable experience and we are already talking about how to make it bigger and better next season.

Jay

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Possible - Organize the parking should be a the top of the list......

Whatever the reasons - parking has to be fixed and also made safer -

and if you want to hhold the vent there again - enforce the no alcohol and no smoking policy because that is the state policy in NJ for all schools and their properties. It was extreme in the lots. I know from experience that it is a big undertaking to host any DCA show,however, you must have the show /event staff on site from first thing in the morning. First thing in the morning means 8am. Anything less is a rough or badly run show at best. Performances were great but outside of the gate was a huge free for all for corps and their members. It felt like someone decided that day to put a show together and forgot to organize parking. Alumni have to be respectful of the needs of the corps.

Was there handicap parking?

Parking was an issue for everyone - members and spectators. Whatever was the reason - the bottom line is it was not taken care of. A sign is not taking care of it. Active parking workers is the only way - if you do not have enought people - should not have the show. It was that bad.

I apologize but I do know what it takes. Sticking signs up for a DCA show has never worked. The audience and alumni corps cannot read at DCA events.

Sorry - You have to fix it. COrps show werre great - parking not so much

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We allowed handicap parking in the VIP area very early and all day due to the few actual marked spots filling up quickly.

GOOD, it was needed judging by the ages/frailty of some of the fans who came early to check out the Alumni shows. A lot of older folks came to this event. Also a lot of younger folks. One of the few kinds of events you can really say that will attract people from 9 to 90. :satisfied:

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