Trip Prep

Booster organizations make careful plans to ensure excursions to out-of-town events go smoothly.

- Stacy N. Hackett

Every summer, the students in the Fontainebleau High School Crimson Band attend a Drum Corps International (DCI) show, traveling in tour buses from their hometown in Mandeville, Louisiana. The location of the show changes every year though the Crimson Band Booster Club selects an event close enough to ensure the excursion remains a day trip.

“We attend the show, so that new and returning marching band students can see what professional marching bands do,” says Tammy Durst, booster president. “The trip is part of being in band. The kids pay for their portion of the bus and the ticket, and the parents and siblings are welcome to pay for tickets and attend, too.”

The Crimson Band Booster Club plans for the trip every year and begins coordinating the charter buses up to two months in advance of the event. “We try to have a solid head count by May, so we know how many buses to charter,” Durst says. “A couple weeks before the show,when we have a much firmer idea of our attendance, we’ll purchase the tickets.”

Because the event occurs every year, planning typically goes smoothly. The boosters leverage that experience when they plan for the optional overnight trip.

“Right after school gets out, our organization takes a large overnight trip, typically to a vacation type of destination, such as Disney World,” Durst explains. “We start planning for this trip in September or October of the previous year and ask parents and students to commit to attending by January.”