Marching Hundred performing at bowl
The Russellville High School Marching Hundred has been invited to participate in the parade and the halftime show for the 2010 Chick-fil-A Bowl on Friday, Dec. 31, in Atlanta. The Game Day Parade will run through downtown Atlanta and the Marching Hundred will perform for an estimated 100,000 spectators who will line the streets to watch the parade.
That evening, the Marching Hundred will be part of a 2,000-member “mass band” that will include students from all over the country. The mass band will rehearse as a group before performing a patriotic-themed pregame show and the pop-themed halftime show for 74,000 people.
“This is a great opportunity for our students,” Marching Hundred director Gary McNutt said. “I know all of the kids are excited about it.”
In addition to performing during the parade and during the game, the Marching Hundred has also been invited to participate in the Marching Band Field Competition at the Georgia Dome on Wednesday, Dec. 29.
McNutt said the band will perform their halftime show from this year’s football season and will compete against bands from all over the country.
Even though this trip will be performance-based, McNutt has scheduled time for the students to have fun as well.
The band will leave on Dec. 28 and will visit The Varsity, the world’s largest drive-in restaurant; the World of Coke museum; Centennial Olympic Park; and the Chick-Fil-A Bowl Fan Fest at the Georgia World Congress Center. The band will also participate in a dinner banquet and dance on Thursday, Dec. 30.
“Last spring the band went to Disneyworld and we went to Philadelphia and New York in 2008,” McNutt said. “This year we were looking for a little less expensive trip for the band to take.
“We sent in an application for the bowl game, which was accepted, and we thought that this would be a fun experience for our students, even though Atlanta isn’t that far away.
“The Marching Hundred hasn’t participated in a bowl game since the 1994 Fiesta Bowl and this will be something these kids will always remember.”
McNutt said the bowl game appearance has basically extended their football season into December and the group continues to rehearse to prepare for the field competition and the parade.
“We were named the Band of the Week at Jacksonville State University and performed at the Jacksonville State and Tennessee State game on Oct. 16,” McNutt said. “That performance gave our students the chance to practice on a college field with college hash marks, which is what they will perform on at the Georgia Dome.”
The Chick-fil-A Bowl will be televised on ESPN on Friday, Dec. 31, at 6:30 p.m.
