I know, I know. This is a color guard blog. But I can’t help myself because I’m so gosh darn happy about being married to my love! Big ups to Anne and Rich Lavigne for our spectacular photos.
Now back to your regularly schedule color guard blog… 
From now on, I’d like to be referenced as FL2054. Here’s why:
For our “Time” show last year, I decided to design flags for our version of “I’m Late”. I mean, I literally took out a piece of paper, sketched ideas, put them into Photoshop, and sent them to be made by Band Shoppe. The final product:
Our little Ashley (Photo by Jolesch Photography)
So, imagine my surprise last night when our band director showed me this in the Band Shoppe catalog for 2011-12:
The director marked the page with a post-it that said "Look who stole your design!!"
I had no idea that custom designed/ordered flags we submit to be made could be put in the catalog for all to use. So they didn’t “steal” the design at all, they just liked it enough to add to their lineup. That is why I’m famous (sort of).
And just for good measure, I’m also famous on the internets:
If it's on the internet, it's true (Click the photo to go to Band Shoppe's site)
All right, Band Shoppe — you got like 4 links to your site in the post, now where’s my share of the profits? (KIDDING!)
This article from Halftime Magazine could not come at a better time. I’m trying to conceptualize the fall’s uniforms and this is a great read. It’s nice to know that the one-piece baton twirler-esque uniforms are definitely OUT. I’ll have to remember that!
But seriously, it’s an interesting read.
I’m bursting at the seams to post my entry about this year’s theme, but can’t just yet (silly band director and his secrets)… just know that when I do, it’ll full of pretty flag pictures!
Our band director has started dropping hints to the kids about the fall’s theme, meaning I better start thinking more about flags, uniforms, and general show design stuff! And I need to do that soon because my wedding falls smack in the middle of when we do the most planning. And our annual guard workshop is also set to begin April 27th, so I’ve also got to layout the teaching plan and write a tryout routine, too. And be a good bridesmaid to my high school friend who is getting married up in Boston in May
It’s so good to be busy with guard again! Don’t get me wrong, the wedding stuff is a lot of fun, too. But let’s just say 8 years of teaching guard has prepared me well for the detail-oriented world of wedding planning. (Perhaps that’s a good topic for a post!)
Oh, and I’m also a contributor on ColorGuardEducators.com, so go check it out. It’s a great resource for us instructor types.
Just wanted to show you one of the many GREAT engagement photos we had taken on Saturday. More photos can be seen on Anne & Rich Lavigne’s blog OR on Facebook.
Today the band had their last practice before tomorrow’s Northern States Championships. We did what we needed to do, and then had a little fun…
Taking engagement photos!
No joke.
You see, Vince and I are hard corps, er, core band geeks. I marched with the Lenape Marching Band from 1996-1999, did a little indoor guard, and started teaching color guard in 2003. Vince was in the Edgewood High School Band from 1990-1994 and Jersey Surf from 1991-1998 before volunteering at Lenape.
Because music and marching band have played such a large role in our lives, we thought it might be fun to incorporate the students in the shoot. So we invited those that wanted to stay after practice to put on their uniforms and join us out on the field for some bandgagement photos. (That word will catch on, I know it!)
Our photographers, Rich and Anne Lavigne, made it an enjoyable time for the kids and very special for Vince and I. Of course, the kids made it special for us too! Thank you again, Rich, Anne, and the Lenape Band for a memorable afternoon.
PS- We’ll let everyone know when photos are up.
PPS- Check out Rich and Anne’s blog. They do all kinds of photo shoots: http://www.richlphotography.com/blog
And they have done it again! Lenape High School won 1st place at the USSBA Group 2A New Jersey Championships Sunday in Washington Twp, NJ with a score of 83.975. Special awards include visual, overall effect, percussion, and COLOR GUARD(!).
photos & videos:
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It’s been a challenging (but successful!) season, so I’d also like to take a moment to congratulate & thank these fabulous people:
Michelle: Thank you for being a leader the guard could look up to respect. You did a great job!
Christine, Crystal, Heather, & Michelle: Congratulations for bringing home 4 consecutive championships! You have done what no other class has in the history of our program. Thank you for your unity this season. You are leaving quite the legacy.
Amber, Danielle, & Jess: You have a lot to live up to next year, but I know that you will rise to the challenge. Keep up the great work and help us bring home another banner!
Ashley & Nicki: Thank you for coming to practices with smiles on your faces! And for making everyone laugh – whether it was over your jumping jack skills or funny impressions of Danielle in the mirror. I giggle every time.
Hailey & Bella: Congratulations for surviving your first season. You had some tough work thrown at you, but you got it, and got it good! To Hailey: I have no doubt you helped inspire the rest of the guard/band as you marched around the field, bootie and all, learning your guard work for 1/2 of the season.
And last, but not least, Nick, our 12 o’clock: Thank you for stepping it up and learning guard work in a matter of 5 days so we could have a full clock at the end of the show!
Again, congratulations! The look on all of your faces when they had announced you’d won another state title reminded me why I keep coming back year after year.
I’m excited for the 3-day weekend! However, I go into knowing that for so many of us, this is our last non-band-filled weekend until mid-November. It’s both exciting and nerve-wracking…
I won’t be spending my weekend at the shore (or the “beach” as un-Jersey readers might call it), but I will be writing more work for the show and attacking the first of this season’s DIY prop projects: Large pocket watches.
To everyone out there celebrating their last weekend of freedom, enjoy it! Because we all know that all the hardest (but fun) work begins after Labor Day. How fitting!
Last Monday, we had a FUNdraiser. Notice the emphasis on fun? Raising money for your organization can sometimes be a tedious task, but we learned that it doesn’t have to be!
Since we were looking to make a lot of money fast (10 days), conventional fundraisers like selling candles or doing a car wash, we decided to do something different: Hold a Zumba class.
The idea was to have the kids invite friends and family to take a class with a local Zumba instructor. We were very fortunate to have the talented Zaida Castillo donate a one-hour class to the band. That meant 100% of the money we collected at the door ($10 head) went to the students who brought people to the event. We did not charge the band students to attend.
After all was said and done, we had about 90 people come take the class, and raised $740! They keys to success for this event were the easy set up (jug of water, a speaker for music, cash box, and a large open room) , donation
of service, and the fact that people were getting something fun out of supporting out band.
What types of fundraisers have you done? How did they work out?
Started our annual spring workshop on 4/28!
We had 5 new ladies show up. 4 newbies would cover what we lost, so as long as we are at a consistent number, I feel good.
I’m in the very beginning stages of choosing flags and uniforms. This year’s show: Time*. This year’s challenge: Finding a uniform that can be used for the next few years (I’ll do a whole post on that later). Also, we are in Southern New Jersey, so budget issues have us looking at how we can save some money here and there. Since the color guard takes up a lot of money each year on uniforms and flags, it only makes sense for us to reuse as much as we can. Going into my 8th season as an instructor, I’ve built up quite a repository of flags that we can reuse, so I don’t necessarily see that part as a challenge.
Have you started recruiting and training your new members already? What types of uniforms have you found work for several seasons? How have you dealt with large budget cuts in your program?
Please let me know in the comments!
