The Marion Patriot Pride Marching Band will open the 2024 Marching Competition season Saturday at the 19th Annual Mid-South Classic at Jonesboro High School. The band enters the competition as the two-time defending Grand Champion, having won the contest in both 2022 and 2023.
The Marion band is scheduled to perform last out of 17 bands at 7:10 pm.
The Patriot Pride Band will have a busy month of October, according to Director of Bands Monty Hill. On October 12, Marion will travel to Monroe, Louisiana, to compete in the Ark-La-Tex Championship being sponsored by the US Band. US Bands is a national organization that promotes music education and provides excellent opportunities for high school bands. This contest is set in a prelims/finals format featuring 10 outstanding bands from a three-state region. Marion will perform last in prelims at 4 pm. The contest is being held at West Monroe High School.
Then, on October 19, the band will travel to the Gulf Coast to compete in the inaugural Eastern Shore Classic being sponsored by the Daphne High School Band from Daphne, Alabama. This invitational event will feature over 20 bands from Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Arkansas.
Then after only one day of rest, the Marion Band will travel to Paragould to compete in the Arkansas School Band and Orchestra Association Region Marching Assessment on October 21. Marion will be attempting to earn a fifth straight 1st division rating and qualify yet again for the ASBOA State Marching Contest to be held November 6 at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
In preparation for the State Band Contest, Marion will complete their schedule at one more invitational, the Paragould McDonald's Marching Invitational on October 26.
The 2024 Marching Contest season will close on November 9 with a historic trip to the US Bands Southeast Championship to be held at Alabama A&M University in Huntsville, Alabama. Marion will compete with outstanding bands from Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky, and Arkansas.
Marion is fielding its largest band in school history this fall, with 180 student musicians taking the field on Friday nights as part of the Patriot Pride Marching Band. The competition band features 160 members. The theme for this year’s competition show is “Riveting.” The show pays homage to “Rosie the Riveter” and all of the women who supplied America’s war effort during World War II.
The full competition schedule is as follows:
October 5 – Jonesboro Invitational, Jonesboro
October 12 – Ark-La-Tex Championship, Monroe, La.
October 19 – Eastern Shore Classic, Daphne, Ala.
October 21 – ASBOA Region Assessment, Paragould
October 26 – McDonald’s Marching Invitational, Paragould
November 6 – ASBOA State Marching Contest
November 9 – US Bands Southeast Championship, Huntsville, Ala.
The Marion School District is an innovative and growing district that ensures an equitable, engaging learning community where every student is empowered to achieve academic excellence and personal growth. With more than 150 years of experience serving families in Crittenden County, the district offers a high school, a junior high, a seventh grade academy, and three award-winning magnet schools. For enrollment information, including information on school choice, visit https://www.msd3.org/ or call 870-739-5100.