journaling:
I joined the marching band in the 9th grade after trying out for the color guard at the end of my 8th grade year. Every year was exciting with the new routines, the fun flags and the rush of performing. Every year our show was different from the year before with no similarities and I had fun being a part of each and every one of them. But of course, one stands out the most. It was the summer before my junior year and our band was the largest it had been in years. We were actually able to compete as AAA class if we wanted. Our awesome band director was promising us the best show he had ever written. We got to band camp and he announced the theme, after a dramatic pause of course. The Wizard of Oz. Complete with a full cast of characters - The Wicked Witch of the West, Dorothy, the Tinman, the Lion and of course the Scarecrow. It wasn’t too big of a surprise if you knew Mr. Kinglsey. He was a huge fan of the Wizard of Oz. We played all the major scores from the movie, of course including Somewhere Over the Rainbow, which we ended with. My favorite part of the show (which also happened to most people’s favorite) was during the Cyclone song. The entire band ran around like crazy for a few seconds and then formed a giant cyclone shaped. Then as we marched across the field our witch actor rode across the field on an old bicycle. During halftime at the football games everyone would stay in their seats to watch the show - even the visiting team! Every competition we went too we cleaned out all the best trophies and earned top honors. The photo below is the only I have sadly. It’s the very end when the rainbow colored balloons were released into the air. It was a fantastic show and we all put our hearts in it. And it was a good thing too since that year ended up being our last year with Mr. Kingsley. He stepped down from the high school and stayed full time at the middle school. We missed him but all shared the memories of the best show Villa Rica ever saw.

Welcome to Oz by Viva Artistry

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