Day 17 Rehearsal and Prelims

Day 17 was all about preparing for the big show.  We started early with a rehearsal which included an amazing run through – they were so focused it was scary.  Over the last two days they have made such huge strides.  Our lunch was a BBQ with wurst and pork chops, yum.  Then we had another rehearsal in the afternoon mainly focusing on focus and preparation.  We then headed over to the stadium for the big moment.

Our preparations were complete, now all we had to do was go out and show the world what we have been working on.  And we did!  I can’t remember a show that was so consistently achieved and powerful from the Stetson Show Band.  What a night to remember.  And what a time to do it… you see only the bands who made finals would have another chance to perform.  In all honesty, I thought we would place somewhere between 8-12, meaning there was no guarantee of performing again.  Not only did nail the performance, but we placed 5^th!!!!  The highest Stetsons has ever placed in world competition before was 8^th.  What an amazing payoff for our students – they have worked so hard, alongside our dedicated and talented staff, and they were rewarded.  We are all so proud!!  Stampede Band placed 2^nd amidst some pretty tough competition at the top.

Placing in the top 5 means a huge honor… we will be playing on Sunday as part of the top finals groups.  That also means tomorrow we are right back at it – looking for that little extra oomph.  The staff has been pouring over the comments from the judges looking for ways to bring that little extra sparkle to our last show on Sunday!  Wish us luck!

Day 15-16 Vimy Ridge, Rehearsal day and Street Parade

Day 15 was an amazing journey through some of the important Canadian memorials of WWI.  We started with a 3 hour bus ride taking us to France and Belgium and to Vimy Ridge, the pivotal Canadian battle of the war.  The students had an opportunity to tour the tunnels, that were still preserved and restored, and visit the awe-inspiring Vimy Ridge Memorial, dedicated to the memory of all the Canadian soldiers lost in France during the war.

Next the busses stopped by Paschendale, the site of one of the bloodiest battles of WWI.  Next, we made our way to Tyncott Cemetary, the largest burial site in the world for Commonwealth nations.  Both of these sites are part of Flanders Fields.  

Ypres was our final stop in Belgium, where the students loaded up on chocolate and toured the Flanders Field Museum.  All in all, and awe-inspiring, sobering and emotionally challenging day, but one that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

Day 16 was back to business - our morning rehearsal was a lot of clean up work, we then went to do the WAMSB street parade, a judged event, and it was awesome.  Great crowds, a parade through yet another amazing European city, and the students played and marched really well.  Plus, we finally got a chance to meet up, although briefly with Stampede Band and Red Deer.

Afternoon found us rehearsing some last minute musical details.  A quick stop at the grocery store to stock up, and we rehearsed more in the evening culminating with their best run through of the year!

It was an amazing couple of days, the students have been holding up considerably well as we stormed into our 3rd week of tour - tomorrow is the big day...prelims at 4:20 in the afternoon.  So send us all your good vibes at 8:20 tomorrow morning!

Day 13-14 Travel, Bottendorf, Cologne, Kerkrade

Day 13 found us leaving early and heading out for a long bus ride.  But the destination was really something - Bottendorf.  A town of about 2000 in rural Germany turned out in force to hear us play.  They were enthusiastic and apprectiative.  They out on a huge party for us including a performance by their own brass band, an outstanding oom-pah band, specialty foods and of course probably the best bratwurst in the world.  What hospitality.

After our stop in Bottendorf, where we could have stayed for a week, we landed at the youth hostel in Wetzlar.  Again, our accomodations and food have surpassed all expectation!  We had a brief rehearsal in the morning, working on parade technique then loaded the bus for the historic town of Cologne.

One of the old cities, full of history, the cathedral of Cologne is one of the great buildings in Germany, and the students marvelled at it's sheer size.  After Cologne we loaded the busses and arrived in Kerkrade at Campus West.  Although we now have to share classrooms with cots, our accomodations and food is again proving to be outstanding.  Our first meal started with traditional Dutch vegetable soup, and concluded with mash potatoes, meat, corn, brussel sprouts, and yogurt for dessert!

We had a brief rehearsal out on a grass field for the first time in a long time, and after a few bumps and grinds we got into a good groove.  We have a few more rehearsals left to polish things up!  Tonight we also handed out the prizes for the amazing race, which was a lot of fun - it will be something to see the combined footage in a montage!!! Tomorrow is a big day... we head to Vimy Ridge and other important Canadian sites in Belgium and France.

Day 13 The Amazing Race!!! Final shows at the Basel Tattoo!

Wow - what an awesome last day here in Basel.  We started with a surprise for the students - the staff and chaperones set out a scavenger hunt in the model of the Amazing Race - the students had to use transportation, visit most of the historic sights, take pictures, perform silly tasks and even eat their vegetables.  They had a blast - they worked together and generally had an outstanding day.  We are collecting the massive amounts of pics and video that the students took and the band council will probably put it together for presentation later.

Tonight we performed our last two shows (well three actually - they asked us to run out and play a stand still set between shows!) at the Basel Tattoo.  Both were performed extremely well and I will speak for the staff and say that the kids have lived up to every expectation we set out for them, and they have had a great time doing this all the while learning about performing, professionalism, and friendship.  It was sad to say goodbye to our dressing rooms that have been our home for the last 2 weeks, and you could see that the kids were sad to see it end as well.  

Now we have to pack - which is no small task!!!  It is nice to be in one place for so long, but as the students rooms clearly demonstrate things spread out more the longer you stay.  Anyways, no pics tonight, and please know that we are off from here in the morning.  I will attempt to stay up to date with the blog, but that will of course depend on finding internet connection.

Day 12 Rehearsal, Van Gogh, 2 shows!

We had our last rehearsal in the Messe today - it has been a great place for us to work over the last week! We had a great show rehearsal capped with an awesome run through... really looking to performing this show next week.  

During the afternoon we were lucky to have a once in a lifetime experience - we visited a Van Gogh special exhibit which brought together a massive collection of his works - 70 - this has not happened on this scale before - and the exhibit had a marvelous layout providing historical background, and a glimpse into the change and growth that Van Gogh went through in his painting style that led him to the amazing creations of his last years, A very inspiring experience.  

Then we did two shows!!! The evening show was again for national broadcast and the students did a great on on both. They are really getting in sync with performing everyday and they are discovering the joy of performance - very cool! 

A special thing happened for our drumline - the members of Top Secret Drum Corps, who are the headliners and really have become heroes to our kids, came to watch our drumline warm up this evening - what a wonderful thing. Our guys and gals did us proud and the TS guys were great with them. We hope to get our drumline over to watch their warm up tomorrow. We have been welcomed whole heartedly and will have nothing but the best to say about Basel and its people.

Day 11 Rehearsal, Junk Museum and 2 Shows

Day 11 started with field show rehearsal in the Messe. We are in high gear right now, cleaning every last detail and adding some new visual moves to spice things up. The students are really doing a great job and putting forward every effort!

We then went to the "Junk Museum." This is a museum featuring the work of Jean Tinguely - an amazing collection of really cool sculptures (see some of the pics)

Finally we got to do 2 shows tonight, the 2nd being recorded for National Swiss broadcast. The show was fantastic, the kids did great, and the audience loved them!

Day 9-10 Sightseeing and Shows

Day 9 started early as we boarded busses at 8am to head for Mount Pilatus near Lucerne.  This is the home of the world-famous cog train, that is really a national treasure.  We took the train up, about 15 minutes, with a vertical rise of about 7,000 feet - the steepest angle being 48 degrees.  Really a marvel.  And all the nostalgic elements to boot - hikers, cows with bells tinkling away, and the mountain chalet (been in service since the 1880s).  At the top we enjoyed amazing vistas, hiked to various points and then took a andrenaline rush of ride down in the 40 person gondola!

Afterwards we spent some free time in the town of Lucerne, which is a beautiful lakeside resort, with lots of historical importance and well preserved buildings.  We then returned to Basel and performed an excellent show at the Tattoo - more and more people are commenting on how well our kids are doing and the discipline they are exuding.

Day 10 found us out early again, but this time as pedestrians.  Our students have been immersed in the walking culture that is the European way.  We have probably walked 4-5 miles a day, just back and forth to our hotel, rehearsal and performance locations.  Today though we took a train out of Basel up river about 20 miles or so.  Here we visited the Roman ruins of Augusta Raurica, established about 2000 years ago.  With the help of four fine tour guides, we recieved an extensive tour of the site.

We had a rehearsal for a few hours in the afternoon to review our field show, and we added a few extra twists - we found ourselves very tired by the end of today and performing took everything the students had.   They did an outstanding job, and earned a well deserved late start tomorrow morning!  Enjoy the pics! (Sorry about the delay for the pics, internet a little fussy)

Day 8 Europa Park and Show

Hey guys,

    Pretty light day here - we got on busses early to Europa Park in Germany, what a blast.  The kids had a lot of fun and got to ride some pretty crazy roller coasters!  

Afterwards, we drove back and performed again at the Tattoo, 6 down, 8 to go.  People are starting to take notice of our guys, they are really impressed with the style of our marching and the discipline with which our members have been rehearsing and performing.   Very nice compliments!

Day 7 Rehearsal and Show

We slept in this morning!!! Yeehaw.  Everyone felt much better after some well earned rest.  We had a very intense rehearsal in the Messe, where we got deep into cleaning our straight lines and started getting back to rehearsing our field show.

The afternoon was free, and we gathered for our evening performance which was earlier as it was Sunday.  The band put on a great performance - we improved tremendously and received great compliments from the producers and fellow cast members.  Bravo to the members.  

It is really something to see the kids get in sync with the production.  Everyone is getting more comfortable with the schedule and the setting, and as result the performances are improving and the kids are having some great fun!  Here's some video of dressing room antics - 

Other than that it was a pretty "normal" day - we are off to Europa Park in Germany for some thrills tomorrow!

Day 5-6 Dress Rehearsals, Sightseeing, Premiere Show

Hey Everyone - the last two days have been busy ones!  Thankfully we all get to sleep in tomorrow!

Day 5 started with a brush up rehearsal for the grand finale.  Afterwards, we hopped on the tram (use of which is free for Tattoo participants) and rode over to the Marketplatz, or the traditional town centre.  From there we traveled in chaperone groups to some of the various sites including the town hall, the cathedral, and theater district.  Then it started to rain...

It kept raining all afternoon heading towards the show.  The Tattoo has a "show must go on" policy, so we prepared as best we could.  Our first "dress" rehearsal (it was sold out, 5000 people or so) was in pretty heavy rain, but we managed a pretty good run of the show.  The pageantry of this is amazing, the number of bag pipers is astounding and the production is unbelievable - check out the pics.  What an awesome event to be a part of.

As the evening progressed, it got darker and rained harder, and the second show that night was a little rough as a result.  Oh well, that's why they call them dress rehearsals.  There are some pics of the band in the slideshow, and yes those are hounds you see in the one pic!  More on that later.   

We arrived back at the hotel after around midnight and went to sleep immediately.  The big parade through the city was the next big event.  The members were excited and ready to get back on track, and they were the hit of the parade, the audience cheered loudly and we paraded through the old town down and across the Rhine river!

After the parade, we called for mandatory down time for the students as we again had two performances of the show tonight (one more dress and the premiere)!  Thankfully the rain let up, and we were able to have our warm ups outside, at the river's edge.  Crowds gathered and clapped appreciatively as our students performed their exercises in preparation for the show.  Both shows went very well! Congrats to the students - we headed back, took a deep breath, and are looking forward to some well deserved rest! (well only a little, we rehearse at 11am!)

Now for the explanation of the hounds - there is a hunting hound exhibition that precedes our show... the dogs have been a little unruly to say the least and are definitely getting the better of their handlers (Much to the delight of the crowd!).  During tonight's show however, one dear pup decided to "mark" on Tony's rifle that he was to pick up for the big solos in the Chase.  Tony was a real trooper (I asked if minded if I shared this story), the crowd gave a huge cheer for his discipline, and we all had a big laugh afterwards!!!   Anything can happen in showbiz!

One more quick note - thanks to Fred and Ken for providing lots of the photos and video we have posted here.  Also huge thanks to all the chaperones who have been busting their tails, helping out, getting extra snacks, and taking the initiative to help take care of the kids!

Day 5-6 Videos

Can't help myelf, the band baby is really cute, plus you get a good glimpse of our behind the scenes dressing rooms and hallway in the barracks.

This is a glimpse of the headliner for the show - Top Secret Drum Corps.  They put on a winter drumline show with great precision and the audience loves it.

A look at the Grand Finale from the stands!

Day 4 Videos

Day 4 Rehearsals and Rhine Boat Tour

Day 4 started with warm-ups and show rehearsal in the Tattoo Stadium.  What a "cool" space, except that we had a unexpected bout of hot weather - 38 with heat index!  The tarmac heated things up further and we were all sweating like it was Malaysia, but the members really dug deep and we had a great rehearsal.

They were rewarded with a tour up and down the Rhine river, we again crossed briefly into France and passed by the point where Germany, France and Switzerland all convene at one point.  The tour highlighted many of the important historical areas of the old city (founded as early as 80 BC), as well as the industrial importance of the port.

Later in the day, we had more rehearsal in the large Messe hall, where we were taught the drill for the grand finale portion of the show.  Our kids handled themselves brilliantly!  They were attentive and quick to pick things up.  They also handled the responsibility of holding heavy flaming torches very well.  The whole finale production really is something - it's like a European version of the grandstand show!  Anyhow, we are off to get rest, tomorrow brings more rehearsal and 2 full dress rehearsal runs!

Day3 Rehearsal and Sightseeing

Day 3 found us waking early to head over the Messe for rehearsal.  The organizers had taped off an exact replica on the floor of this gigantic facility and we had our 45 minute rehearsal to fine tune things and get used to the space.  Tomorrow we have our dress rehearsal in the stadium!

Again the food was awesome, starting with a traditional European breakfast of cold cuts, cheeses, breads, jams yogurt and juice - WOW.  After our morning rehearsal and lunch, the students had several hours of free time to explore Basel and relax.  After dinner, we had a tour of the tattoo facilities and the stadium - what an awesome place to perform!  

Tonight we had some sectional rehearsal as well as some marching time - they were so focused and ready to perform, they really put in a great effort.  Tomorrow is exciting as we have our dress rehearsals and the full cast grand finale rehearsal!!!  Enjoy some pics from Day 3!

Day 1 -2 Travel and Arrival in Basel!!!

We have arrived at the Hotel du Commerce in Basel!!!  All in all our travel was pretty smooth aside from a little weather delay in Calgary.  The plane was quite modern and of course the kids did not sleep much!  The busses picked us up and we drove the four hours from Frankfurt to Basel, passing through France along the way!

Once in Basel we got settled in our hotel, which is really nice BTW, and headed down towards the barracks for dinner at the mess hall.  Looks like we are going to be eating well - it is all you can eat for every meal!  After dinner, we walked to the riverfront, dipped a toe in the Rhein River, then headed back to the hotel for a well deserved sleep.  Gotta get up and rehearse tomorrow!

Packing Done - Set off tomorrow!

Welcome Stetson Fans!

Please visit the blog - We'll do our best to keep you up to date with the tour with pics and videos from the road!  Once we get there and find internet connections we'll be in touch.  Wish us safe travels.