Bands battle it out
Following the jazz competition, between the parade and field show, high school and middle school musicians and their supporters took a break.
Students wearing their band uniforms posed for a “team” photo before they changed into more comfortable clothing. Some bands had grills going and tables set up for lunch, while other students opted to grab a bite from the food trucks in the parking lot.
On Saturday, the 42nd Grape Bowl Classic attracted 41 marching bands from the Central Valley and Bay Area to the Grape Bowl in Lodi. The review is the largest annual fundraiser for Tokay High’s and Lodi High’s band programs and brings young musicians together in what amounts to a big family gathering.
“For the kids, they learn a sense of family and camaraderie,” said Angie Cavazos, secretary of the Grape Bowl Classic committee. “Music helps them think of math and science, all of those kinds of things. But they also learn to work together, and they learn to work in the community and help their community.”
The Grape Bowl Classic generates up to about $20,000 each year to supplement Lodi Unified School District’s budgeted contribution, which Cavazos said amounts to little more than the classroom and band director.
“As far as everything else, the boosters have to come up with that and most of the people on the committee are alumni,” she said. “My son graduated five years ago and he and I are still on the committee helping out because that’s what we do. We do it to help the bands raise funds to help the two high schools.”
Perhaps no group reveled more in the familial hug of the band community than the 19 members of the Paradise High School Marching Band. Their town in Butte County was nearly completely destroyed by the Camp Fire, which took 85 lives, displaced tens of thousands, destroyed more than 18,000 buildings and consumed 153,336 acres, making it the deadliest and most destructive fire in state history. Nov. 8 marks the one-year anniversary of the tragedy.
Bob Schofield, Paradise High’s band director, said Saturday’s review, the school’s third this year, was cathartic for the students.
“What music and our team band does for these kids, it’s a totally different family,” said Schofield, who has taught music for 32 years, including 27 years at Paradise High. “The band kids all eat lunch together and all hang out together. It gives them another family outside of home.”
Schofield said hugs in the form of donations have come from all over the country. The band lost more than 100 instruments and a music room in the fire. More than half of the students in the band have not returned since the fire, likely living now in other towns, such as Chico. The school’s enrollment, about 570, is half of what it was before the fire. This year, several school days and rehearsal time have been lost due to PG&E preventive power outages. PG&E owns and operates the more than 100-year-old power line identified as the cause of the Camp Fire in an investigation by Cal Fire.
Schofield said his band did a good job in the parade Saturday and that he looked forward to their field show later in the evening.
“With the one-year anniversary coming up, the kids are like, ‘This was terrible but can we not talk about it anymore? Can we get back to normal?’ “Schofield said. “This is a step in that direction.”