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(Due to all the infinite amounts of repeat band camp threads, we decided to make a sticky!)

So, tell us about your band camp.
Is it an actual camp or is it just at the field at your school?
When does it start/end?

This is also a thread for band camp questions, etc.

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A few questions I'm going to go ahead and answer, feel free to add on as you see fit. c:

What should I bring to camp?
1: Water bottle.
2: Hat.
3: Sunglasses.

My camp provides cups for the water but those are harder to keep track of and you only have to fill the water bottle once and it lasts for longer. >w>
Sunglasses are a MUST, especially if your field is angled so evening ends with the drum major being right in front of the sun.
Hat helps shade your eyes and keep sunburn away.
SUNBLOCK AND BUG SPRAY, TOO.

What's camp like?

It's running around in a field, in the hot sun in the middle of August.
Yes, it's crazy but it's so worth it.
Once again using my own band, we work from 9AM-5PM for the first week, and 3PM-9PM for the second week.
It's a LONG few weeks of camp, trust me. But you meet a lot of people and have a lot of fun.
Plus you don't have to look for new people to sit with at lunch when school starts, you can just find fellow bandies. biggrin

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Also: Do you design your own t-shirts (during camp or otherwise)? Just a personal curiosity, lol.

EDIT: lol I forgot to mention my band.

Our camp starts in late August and goes up until school starts. The first week is 9AM-5PM (I already said this but...lol), the second two weeks are from...3PM-9PM? I forget. Something like that.
Every year I've been at my school, we've used a different field. Lacrosse field last year, baseball field freshman year; I think we're using the soccer field this year which is even WORSE ugh. We love the baseball field though since it's the only one that's not all lumpy/muddy/IT HAS GRASS.
This year camp starts on the 17th of August since school starts the 8th of September. Lateee D:

For during-school-year practice, we go from 4:00 to 6:30, Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Fridays are home football games (this year we're not going to away games. Curse you budget cuts!), and Saturdays are festivals. Sometimes the busride home runs over into Sunday.
Freshman year we got home at 4:30 AM once because of absolutely terrible things happening. (Bus broke down, McDonalds closed, had to stop and let windows de-fog at the winery, etc)

High school:
So we would have a pre band camp at the high school for 4 days. We would have select seniors called personnel officers have drill groups with about 6-8 people in each group. The group had like a few of each class, where the PO would teach the freshmen/new members how to march. We would also rehearse the show music, and fit the newbies for uniforms, etc.

Then it was off to band camp. We would go to a small college in the mountains of North Carolina. We stayed in their dorms, ate at their (freaking awesome) cafeteria, basically like we were students. We would have 3 field rehearsals, an indoor music rehearsal, and sectionals each day. We would also have some sort of evening activity. I miss it so much.

College:
We would move into our dorms (if applicable) a week early, and we would have a new member meeting that night. The next day we did breakfast, sectionals, music rehearsal, lunch, more music rehearsal, dinner, and at night we would go to the field. It was nice not to have marching rehearsal at night. The field is a fake field, and it is awesome to march barefoot xD

We go away for band camp. The week before and the last few weeks of summer after, we have practice at the school from 8-12 in the morning. Band camp is at a methodist church camp. It is the most buggy, HILLY place ever. The camp name basically means "spiritual place on many hills." It's not like there are hills everywhere, but the ones they have are killers by the last day. burning_eyes I like where we go, though. The camp has a fun feel to it. (There are regular campers that week there, too). Before each meal they sing a "prayer song" along with a regular prayer. And on one day, they put a big tarp on one of the hills and put a hose at the top. You get covered it soapy water at top and slide down. It's epic fun, especially because not many people do it (less wait to go down!). We also get to swim a few days, but it's nice because it's just us band people and no other random campers.

Oh...*cough*...we march too. stressed The field we march on is outside the building the students stay in. We have fundies in the morning before breakfast and 3-4 hours of m&m (marching and maneuvering) before lunch. After lunch we have music rehearsal in the buildings the directors stay in. Sections are kinda mixed throughout. We also have some marching after music rehearsal. Oh, yeah...free time is sometime in there, too.

And my advice for band camp? Carry a bag with you filled with your music, drill, sunscreen, bug spray, valve oil, reeds, etc. It's nice to have everything you need with you. I carry a smallish messenger bag I made just for the purpose. The year before it was just a drawstring bag, but it worked well also.

Did I mention bug spray? If you are going to a band camp in the woods, you will DEFINITELY need it.

Oh, I forgot about my dots. If you have to have "dots" to mark your place on the field, this is a great idea. I take a small, flat piece of wood and drill a hole in it near the top. Then I paint and varnish it (morning dew proof), followed by a ring through each hole. You can then carry them on a lanyard around your neck. A flipbook also can be carried the same way.

precamp just ended here, yesterday
it went really well, so i'm looking forward to band camp which starts monday!
it's here in town, on the practice field from 830am to 930pm
monday we get released early to go see DCI wooo!
and we have planned hour breaks this year to go jump into the public pool, which will be really nice

i think band camp this year is going to be really enjoyable blaugh
i'm really excited because this is my 4th year now, and i have more priveldges
the last day of camp is senior night, and the seniors get to "crown" the juniors
they get to decorate a crown and stuff for you
and they all share memories from their whole time in band
it's alot of fun!

I'm going to band camp this summer. I'm super excited, but at the same time I'm scared shitless because I've never been to any kind of summer camp. My family wouldn't ever pay for me to go, but I got some scholarship in spring that granted me admission.
But anyways, I'm going to an actual camp that's about 4 hours from home. It's just a week long though, August 16th - 22nd and we get to canoeing and watersliding in between events and such.
Oh, and we do get to design our own T-Shirts, at registration night.
Hmm, other than that. I don't know too much about it. Still haven't received the info package in the mail. Curse you FedEX! stressed

First day of band camp for me was today!!
And no one threw up or passed out!!!

I am changing my avi for the week just because of band camp lol..

I hate it, but I love it... so much

Does any one else do rookie auctions at their school?
You buy (the money goes to the band) a freshman/newby and they carry your water jug and throw away your trash and stuff...

I bought my friend Jacob last year and my friend Wes this year! (im a jr)
They both play Trombone... hmm

lol

I've never had an actual camp. It's always been practice all day during the summer. At my high school, we'd usually be in the parking lot (so we could chalk our spaces - we moved to the field later). At my last college, it would be on our field, which, due to our marching, has the lines and dots worn down to dirt while the rest is grass. Makes it really easy to find your place, but also to trip over the grass while marching. My new college should be interesting. This is their first year with a marching band. I'm mello section leader (section of 5, which is one of the biggest, lol). I don't know what it will be like.

We go away to camp to a Christian campground five hours away from home in the middle of nowhere. Notable events, in the middle of the week we head to Springfield IL and march in the State Fair parade, then eat random fried foods on a stick. (This is how state fairs tend to be.), a talent show at the end of the week, very delicious food (but don't eat the eggs), stealing golf carts from the chaperons, and a lot of hard work. =)


Before that, we have practice three days a week for five weeks in the summer.