PCHS Marching Band makes trip to Florida

by Valerie Lau

While most of us were relaxing and enjoying spending time with our families during Christmas break, our PCHS band traveled to Orlando, Florida to compete and perform at the Champs Sports Bowl.

The idea for this trip was brought up last year, and the band has been working very hard to make this trip possible by doing fundraisers and collecting money throughout the year, not to mention the long and grueling hours it took to perfect the music and learn all the moves and positions. The band practiced long hours during the summer and after school at the auxiliary.

“The trip was a lot of fun we got to do a lot of stuff,” says Katie Korte, freshman.

The band departed Christmas night at 11 p.m. from the high school and made the 14 hour trip to Orlando. The next day when they arrived, they ate dinner and went to their hotel rooms.

The next day they performed in front of 45,000 fans at the Champs Sports Bowl for the North Carolina State vs. West Virginia game. The band had won a previous competition which let them perform during the pregame show by themselves where they performed their Billy Joel songs. The rest of the week as a reward for their excellent performance the band got to go to SeaWorld and Universal Studios to relax and have fun!

“It was a great experience that not many people get to experience in a lifetime, and I’m glad I got to be a part of it,” says Aaron Garver.

The band returned home New Year’s Day exhausted but full of great memories!