Marching Black Bears ready for show
WARSAW – The River View High School Marching Black Bears are excited to share their field with 17 other bands this weekend.
“They work just as hard as we do and leave all they’ve got on our field,” said Meredith Stamper.
She and fellow seniors Sarah Kittner, Jarod Kaufman and Elizabeth Ferris always look forward to the annual home marching band contest, which this year is at 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 17.
“So much time and effort goes into a show and the other bands are coming in here and sharing something that is near and dear to our hearts,” Kittner said.
Bands set to perform at the show are from: Shenandoah, Waterford, Kalida, Union, Cambridge, Coshocton, Logan Elm, Ridgewood, St. Clairsville, Philo, Franklin Heights, Licking Valley, New Philadelphia, Newark, and Dublin Jerome high schools. Coshocton is expected to perform at 11:30 a.m., Ridgewood at noon, and River View will wrap up the event after Dublin Jerome performs at 2:15 p.m.
This home contest is just one of many great memories Stamper, Kittner, Kaufman and Ferris have from their time in marching band.
“My first year the seniors were really great and I want to treat my freshmen the same way,” Kaufman said.
Being a good role model to the freshmen is important to Ferris because she will never forget the senior who consoled her when she made a mistake during a show.
“That senior told me we all mess up at some point and was very comforting to me,” Ferris said. “Hopefully I can be like a big sister to the freshmen this year.”
Freshman Alexis McCormick has enjoyed being a part of the band.
“I like that we have working moments and fun moments,” she said.
Stamper and Ferris hope the freshmen see that their hours of hard work are paying off.
“There are points in the season that you don’t think you’ve grown, but now you can see you have.”
Kittner agreed with her classmates.
“Saturday is a chance to look at how far we’ve come, realize our potential and push ourselves to get better,” she said.
Admission to the River View Marching Band contest is $6 for adults, $4 for students 18-years-old and under and free for children 4-years-old and under. The contest also gives bands who haven’t qualified for state yet the chance to do so.
“I’m looking forward to seeing all the people and the crowd enjoying our show,” said Ryan Gildow, a freshman in River View’s band. “Our hard work is paying off and we are looking good so far.”
josie@coshoctoncountybeacon.com
Category: Education
