HAVELOCK, N.C. – This Saturday, the Havelock High School Instrumental Music Department and the Havelock Band Boosters will host the 22nd annual Crystal Coast Band Classic.
The event is billed as one of the premier high school marching band competitions in Eastern North Carolina and the program’s biggest fundraiser of the year. This year 22 high school marching bands, both local and from across North Carolina and even Virginia, will compete for the Grand Champion Trophy.
Bands from Carteret, Craven and Onslow Counties will also be in attendance.
Gates will open at 9:30 a.m., and the event will end around midnight. Opening ceremonies will kick off the competition at 9:40 a.m. as the Havelock High School NJROTC presents the colors.
The $10 admission for adults and includes a souvenir program. Children 8 years and under will be charged a discounted $5, with no program included. The 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing Band will entertain spectators with exhibition performances at 5:41 p.m. and 10:15 p.m. The Havelock High School Marching Rams will perform in exhibition at 5:34 p.m.
Attendance at the 2022 CCBC was estimated at 3,500 spectators. The 2023 event will have over 2,000 participating students, parents and chaperones and over 250 volunteers.
There will be two awards ceremonies: Preliminaries at 6 p.m. and Finals at 10:57 p.m. Preliminary Awards Ceremony: first, second and third place for General Effect, Music Performance, Visual Performance, Color Guard, Drum Major, Percussion, and first, second and third place for Overall Band per class. The bands will be judged in 5 classes – A to AAAAA.
Final Awards Ceremony: Best in General Effect, Music Performance, Visual Performance, Color Guard, Drum Major, Percussion, and Overall Band 1st – 7th place. The Cleveland Arts Performing Ensemble from Cleveland High School was crowned Grand Champion (overall 1st place) at the 2021 Crystal Coast Band Classic.
Volunteers are still needed for the event. More information can be found on the HHS Marching Rams Facebook page or at www.havelockband.com.
CCBC patrons can purchase a wide variety of reasonably-priced refreshments, including Chick-fil-A’s chicken and Smithfield’s BBQ sandwiches, hamburgers, hot dogs, nachos, pizza, French fries, and Havelock’s finest funnel cakes! Also available will be bottled water, assorted soft drinks, coffee, hot chocolate and a variety of snacks and candy. Additional attractions include a Drum-o-meter station, where patrons can measure how many drumbeats they can play per 30 seconds or 1 minute.
For the latest CCBC event information, please visit www.havelockband.com or the Crystal Coast Band Classic page on Facebook.
