by Lauren Holzmann | arts and entertainment editor

Amongst the hoorah of fall football season, there is another highly talented competition going on in the fine arts hallway. At the end of each school year, the marching band program starts with the pre-drills of the ever-so-rigorous marching band routine. This year that has meant early success when the band brought home the championship from the Bands of America McAllen Regional contest.

This year the band has incorporated an Alice in Wonderland theme featuring the journey down the rabbit hole.

“The show is entitled ‘White Rabbit’ and it’s kind of about the white rabbit’s journey through Wonderland and how he gets from where he started to the red

queen,” junior pit member Rachel Delgado said.

For this marching season, the band chose a more whimsical approach as opposed to previous themes, which were slightly more serious.

“This year’s show is a lot more playful, I would say,” senior woodwind captain Caroline LaChance said. “Last year was kind of a sinister more mysterious show with the chameleon but this year is a lot more playful with the different characters.”

Throughout the show, the color guard dresses up in various costumes to resemble the different characters Alice saw when she took the trip to Wonderland.

“We have the Red Queen and the tea party, and all of the different stories and characters that intertwine with Alice in Wonderland,” LaChance said.

While other students can be found either sleeping or doing homework at home, band members are most likely practicing their music somewhere, somehow.

“We just honestly practice so much and just practice, practice, practice,” senior drum major Cameron Prescott said.

However, the extra practice is simply for perfecting their routine for the upcoming competitions.

“We have UIL Region the weekend after homecoming and we have BOA San Antonio on Halloween,” Delgado said.

Though the extensive practicing is a whole new world to the freshman, their leaders say they seem to be adapting pretty well.

“They’re doing really well. They are the best freshman class that has ever been able to grasp on to everything and they are working really hard and I am super proud of them,” Prescott said.