Has this ever happened in DCI history?

[DAvery]

I am surprised no one has mentioned the increased difficulty in crossing the border.  When we traveled to Canada in 79 I remember the border crossing as being serious, but fairly routine. Other than a rumor going through the bus that we were not allowed to take oranges from the US into Canada (and subsequently hiding the oranges as we are waiting for the crossing guards to board our bus) it seemed very easy to cross the border. I don't remember having to show any ID at the border. I doubt it is easy today for Canadian citizens to come into the US. 

[Tim K]

1 hour ago, DAvery said:

I am surprised no one has mentioned the increased difficulty in crossing the border.  When we traveled to Canada in 79 I remember the border crossing as being serious, but fairly routine. Other than a rumor going through the bus that we were not allowed to take oranges from the US into Canada (and subsequently hiding the oranges as we are waiting for the crossing guards to board our bus) it seemed very easy to cross the border. I don't remember having to show any ID at the border. I doubt it is easy today for Canadian citizens to come into the US. 

You’re correct. At the 2016 show in Manchester, one of the volunteers of Les Stentors told me about the difficulties tossing the border. The bus had to be inspected, each bag was inspected, each instrument case had to be opened, and the kids had to stand outside the bus while it happened. They arrived in time for the show, but a torrential rain storm that delayed the start time also took away valuable warm up time.

[Brian Tuma]

Wouldn’t the border crossing simply be a onetime inconvenience where they can be prepared? It’s not like they’re going back and forth. I wonder if their going inactive was more a case of fielding the minimum number of members.

[Fran Haring]

Jubal this year, The Company from Great Britain last year. The "I" still applies. 

[Opti-Burr]

47 minutes ago, Brian Tuma said:

Wouldn’t the border crossing simply be a onetime inconvenience where they can be prepared? It’s not like they’re going back and forth. I wonder if their going inactive was more a case of fielding the minimum number of members.

Twenty years ago I  volunteered for a Canadian Drum Corps, looking after selling souvenirs. I was driving a van, pulling the souvenir trailer and when we got to the boarder, they pulled me into the secondary inspection garage, as they wanted to see what was in the trailer. They went though everything, item by item, and separated out everything that wasn't made in North America. These items they loaded back into the trailer and told us that those were the things that weren't aloud in the country. We loading the remaining items onto the buses, which continued on to our first destination, while I went back to Canada to the parents of one of the kids, who agreed to store these items in their basement. After offloading the trailer into their house, I drove back to the border, were I encountered the same Customs Officer who wanted to look into the trailer again to ensure that it was indeed empty before allowing me entry. This was WAY more than a ontime inconvenience, as now we only had around half of the stuff to sell, which the Corps relied on the feed the kids. With how tough it is to enter the US today, it must be a major nightmare for a Canadian Corps to entry the States.

[Terri Schehr]

46 minutes ago, Opti-Burr said:

Twenty years ago I  volunteered for a Canadian Drum Corps, looking after selling souvenirs. I was driving a van, pulling the souvenir trailer and when we got to the boarder, they pulled me into the secondary inspection garage, as they wanted to see what was in the trailer. They went though everything, item by item, and separated out everything that wasn't made in North America. These items they loaded back into the trailer and told us that those were the things that weren't aloud in the country. We loading the remaining items onto the buses, which continued on to our first destination, while I went back to Canada to the parents of one of the kids, who agreed to store these items in their basement. After offloading the trailer into their house, I drove back to the border, were I encountered the same Customs Officer who wanted to look into the trailer again to ensure that it was indeed empty before allowing me entry. This was WAY more than a ontime inconvenience, as now we only had around half of the stuff to sell, which the Corps relied on the feed the kids. With how tough it is to enter the US today, it must be a major nightmare for a Canadian Corps to entry the States.

We drove into Canada through Niagara Falls a couple of years ago.  The border guard going in was pretty laid back.  Going back into the US...that guy was pretty snarly and all business. 

[Jeff Ream]

5 hours ago, DAvery said:

I am surprised no one has mentioned the increased difficulty in crossing the border.  When we traveled to Canada in 79 I remember the border crossing as being serious, but fairly routine. Other than a rumor going through the bus that we were not allowed to take oranges from the US into Canada (and subsequently hiding the oranges as we are waiting for the crossing guards to board our bus) it seemed very easy to cross the border. I don't remember having to show any ID at the border. I doubt it is easy today for Canadian citizens to come into the US. 

and really got worse since 9/11

[BigW]

6 hours ago, DAvery said:

I am surprised no one has mentioned the increased difficulty in crossing the border.  When we traveled to Canada in 79 I remember the border crossing as being serious, but fairly routine. Other than a rumor going through the bus that we were not allowed to take oranges from the US into Canada (and subsequently hiding the oranges as we are waiting for the crossing guards to board our bus) it seemed very easy to cross the border. I don't remember having to show any ID at the border. I doubt it is easy today for Canadian citizens to come into the US. 

It's also difficult for Canadian performing groups to get the necessary paperwork/performing artist visas to come to the US, and it's been that way for years(Post 9/11 IIRC). Les Dynamiques got held at the border several years ago on their way to a DCA exhibition in CT over that issue. Even the Governor tried to intervene to no avail. There have been no subsequent issues that I know of. I did make a query to another Canadian Corps about the issue and what they needed to do to work around the problem for a College presentation on the subject but unfortunately received no reply.

[BigW]

1 hour ago, Opti-Burr said:

Twenty years ago I  volunteered for a Canadian Drum Corps, looking after selling souvenirs. I was driving a van, pulling the souvenir trailer and when we got to the boarder, they pulled me into the secondary inspection garage, as they wanted to see what was in the trailer. They went though everything, item by item, and separated out everything that wasn't made in North America. These items they loaded back into the trailer and told us that those were the things that weren't aloud in the country. We loading the remaining items onto the buses, which continued on to our first destination, while I went back to Canada to the parents of one of the kids, who agreed to store these items in their basement. After offloading the trailer into their house, I drove back to the border, were I encountered the same Customs Officer who wanted to look into the trailer again to ensure that it was indeed empty before allowing me entry. This was WAY more than a ontime inconvenience, as now we only had around half of the stuff to sell, which the Corps relied on the feed the kids. With how tough it is to enter the US today, it must be a major nightmare for a Canadian Corps to entry the States.

About the only way to avoid the problem is to cross the border with an empty trailer and make a pickup of what's to go inside it with things already purchased here in the US waiting for it somewhere. A definite PITA.

[Opti-Burr]

1 hour ago, Terri Schehr said:

We drove into Canada through Niagara Falls a couple of years ago.  The border guard going in was pretty laid back.  Going back into the US...that guy was pretty snarly and all business. 

Personally, I stopped going to the US over 10 years ago because every time I went there, the American Customs Officer left me with the feeling that I wasn't welcome.