Xander - Music in the Park

At the end of May I got to be a chaperone for Edgewood Middle School's band competition up at Hershey Park. Although it was a super early start to the day (we had to be at the school at 5:00), it was well worth it. I had such a fun day with my Xanderman.

I love Hershey, Pennsylvania!

My sax player is ready to go!

We stopped at two different schools in the morning to participate in the competition.

Waiting our turn.

Our band did a fabulous job but the competition was stiff.

After all that playing, the students were ready to hit the park!

The park was packed so all the main roller coasters had long, long waits but that didn't stop my guys from getting right in line. One of the boys didn't want to ride any roller coasters so he waited with me and once the boys were done, he got the next pick. He picked the speed cars which, crazily enough, the wait time was incredibly long as well. Oh, well, the boys seemed to have fun.

Hangin' with the big Hershey Kiss!

Wandering through the park.

After only two rides the boys were ready for lunch.

Coolin' off!

It was hysterical watching these boys wait for the wave and then try to scatter.

A good soaking.

Time for another roller coaster!

And then another soaking! This might have been their favorite part of the park!

It was finally time to head over to the award ceremony. I noticed this plaque outside the arena - this is the place where Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in one game!

Waiting for the results...

Although our band and orchestra did not come away with a lot of awards for our musical talent, we did walk away with what was considered the top award of the competition - I don't know the exact title but it was for how our students behaved throughout the competition, including how we treated each other and other schools as well as how we behaved ourselves throughout the competition. Ms. Bell was ecstatic!!

Our last stop before we had to meet at the bus was the arcade. Apparently the boys did really well!

Definitely a very long day but I'm looking forward to doing it again next year.