County bands marching as one at Universal Studios

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Students from Holly Pond, Good Hope, Vinemont and Fairview practice together Tuesday afternoon in preparation for their trip to Universal Studios in Orlando next week. / Heather Mann

CULLMAN – For the first time in the history of each school, band members from Holly Pond, Good Hope, Vinemont and Fairview will join together as one “superband,” which will march in the Universal’s Superstar Parade next week in Orlando, Florida. Comprised of 150 students from seventh through 12th grades, the band will march down the streets of Universal Studios on Friday, March 23, as part of each school’s spring band trip.

The band is made up of 30 students from Vinemont, 16 from Holly Pond, 34 from Fairview and 70 from Good Hope.

When asked who came up with the idea to combine and how, the band directors stated that the idea had come to them over the summer when they realized that they all had the same idea for their spring trips.

Skylar King, director of the Vinemont Eagle Band, said, “Once we all realized we were working toward the same goal, we decided it would be great for our students to get to come together with other band members in the county. It was more of a great-minds-think-alike and the-more-the-merrier idea than anything else.”

With the help of Tim Sullivan from Sullivan Travel, the schools were able to coordinate the combined performance.

Holly Pond Band Director Evan Curtis said, “This will be the first time we’ve had a combined group like this perform at a parade at Universal Studios. It’s really cool to see all the groups come together for this performance!”

Said King, “First, thank you to our families, schools, and community for helping make this trip possible. Every fundraiser we put on, every concession stand item we sell, and every piece of equipment were able to purchase through those endeavors help make these opportunities possible. Secondly, working hard towards a goal are the skills we often times cannot teach in the classroom, that you do have to work hard and sacrifice your time and energy to make a better outcome and that is something that makes me incredible proud of all 150 students going on this trip.”

Fairview Band Director Nathan Kilgo shared, “It’s always exciting to see students from different schools come together for a performance. To be able to do it at a place like Universal Studios makes it even better. This will be the largest crowd many of these students will ever perform for. I want to thank Mr. King, Mr. Walker, Mr. Curtis, and Mr. Sullivan for all of their work in making this possible for all of our students.”

Look for updates on the band’s performance next week!

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