By Donna Thornton/News Editor
The Hokes Bluff High School Marching Band is Sugar Bowl bound, where its members will welcome the New Year in the Big Easy and be part of the half-time festivities during the Jan. 2 bowl game.
Band Director Brett Causey said the band usually does some kind of trip, and he’d never taken a band to a bowl game before.
He contacted the company that organizes the half-time show at the Sugar Bowl and learned that at that time, the company needed a band from Alabama to perform.
“They wanted to get a band from each of the Southeastern Conference states,” Causey said. “At that time, they didn’t have a band from Alabama yet.”
“A bowl game is something most of our kids might not have a chance to go to, let alone be a part of,” Causey said.
A group of 71 from Hokes Bluff high school, including 45 students will spend four days in New Orleans, the band director explained.
The group will leave Dec. 30.
“They’ll have a couple of practices and we have activities scheduled for them,” Causey said. “New Orleans is such a great music town.”
The band also will perform in Jackson Square, Causey said. “They’re pretty excited about that.” Other activities will include a riverboat cruise and a Cajun dance lesson.
The game will be televised, but Causey said it’s impossible to predict whether the band will get any TV time.
In the meantime, band members will be raising money to pay for the trip. “It is all student-funded,” Causey said. The band sold discount cards earlier this year, and will be selling Coca Cola products to raise money for their trip.
If anyone would like to help fund the trip, contact Causey or members of the Hokes Bluff band.