Bands converge on Rockmart this Saturday
The sounds and stylings of high school marching bands will be on display this weekend in Polk County.
The 19th Annual Yellow Jacket Classic Marching Festival and Competition returns to Rockmart High School on Saturday afternoon with 14 bands on the schedule.
Admission is $8 per person and programs can be purchased for $2. Concessions will be available. Approximately 1,435 high school students will perform in total throughout the day.
Rockmart High School band boosters work to put on the nearly daylong event, which is a fundraiser for the organization.
The day kicks off at 1 p.m. with the opening ceremonies followed by the festival portion of the event and then the competition portion.
Cedartown’s Marching Bulldog Band is scheduled to perform its “Beetlejuice” halftime show at around 3:20 p.m. as part of Class AA. Other bands performing in the early part of the day include Marist, McEachern and Paulding County.
After a dinner break, the open class competition will begin with the five largest bands performing, including Allatoona, South Paulding and Walker Valley out of Cleveland, Tennessee.
While 13 of the bands will be competing in their respective classes, Rockmart will perform its 2021 halftime show as an exhibition at 8 p.m. followed by the competition awards presentation.
The Marching Yellow Jacket Band has competed twice in the last few weeks at other competitions and received straight superior ratings at each one.
At the Bowdon Invitational on Sept. 25, Rockmart earned first in class in overall band, color guard and percussion, while coming in second in class in dance line and drum majors.