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Last Saturday was community day for The Spirit of Woodlan. They dazzled family and friends, those who might not get to travel to the competitions, with The Witching Hour.
The weather had us seeking shelter inside.
Hot dogs.
Chips.
Cookies.
Drinks.
Not so much marching.
But fabulous music.
Enchanted dancing.
Fluttering flags.
Bleachers full of smiles.
A community coming together.
Because it takes a lot of people, a lot of help to get a band marching.
But what about the band?
They are a family, their own community. If you’ve ever hung out with them, you’ve experienced it. Laughing. Chatting. Yelling.
They eat together. Do homework together. They do each other’s hair and make-up (Dylan looked spectacular in lipstick). They listen to each other. They cry together. They usually end up in large group hugs. And if someone brings their dog…well, there’s so much squealing.
Not everyone likes everyone, which happens in a big group…but there’s love. They’re in this together.
A family.
So, as the fantastic Sarah Gunder has posted gorgeous pictures of the band’s community performance on FB, I’ll let you behind the scenes.
As the musicians played and had fun before the show.
Jackets and hats off, they ran amok, sharing the moment
Instruments set aside, flags were picked up. The guard patiently taught how to throw and catch. Cheering filled the gym with every victory. The gym echoed with the clank of flags hitting the floor and the whoosh of fabric flying in the air. Faces lit with smiles, with shock, with determination.
But eventually, the time came for jackets and plumes. Time to warm-up. Spectators filed in, food in hand.
Then time to perform, to show the crowd what they have worked so hard to do. They all come together.
For this group is more than a band, they’re a family. A giant, messy, fabulous community of performers.
The journey is nearing the end, the community soon to scatter to other things. All the time spent together, replaced by another sport, relaxation, video games, or reading a book (maybe?)…and missing the hours sitting on the band room floor, missing sore feet and being out in the heat or cold, missing how so-and-so makes them laugh or drives them crazy.
I can feel it coming to a close. That feeling is lurking behind the buzz of excitement at what waits for The Spirit of Woodlan this weekend…at what waits for them the next weekend…
Our band community bonds hold strong for the next two weeks. The fun moments of goofiness, of chasing each other around, of yelling “I love you”, of supporting each other in their quest for victory.