Photos from Pittsburg and Enid at colts.org

Photos by Ryan Kime from the Colts' stay in Enid, OK are posted.

Photos by Gary Bruce from the Colts' show in Pittsburg, KS are up on the Colts' official site.

Thanks to Katherine the Colts webmaster for the heads-up about the new pix!

Schedule for June 30

Is it the last day of June already?

Today's Schedule in Alton, IL
8:15 Breakfast
9:15 Vis
12 Lunch (provided by a local VFW Post. Some people do know the history of this activity....)
1:30 Sectionals
5 Dinner
6 Warmup
6:30 Ensemble
8:45 Snack, pack & load
10:15 Depart for Charles City, Iowa (440 miles. ETA Charles City 7:30 a.m.)

Rehearsal day in Alton, Illinois

It's a rehearsal day in Alton, Illinois.

Weather forecast for Alton, Illinois

The Colts are in the Central time zone.

Big night in Alton

The Colts had a big night at the Alton show. They scored 67.55 -- a 2-point-plus jump from Friday's show in Normal.

Way to go Colts!

Apparently, the staff told the corps it was the best they'd ever done. "Travis called us. The kids were really up," said Bill Symoniak, who's at home now. "They were definitely psyched last night."

For all the latest scores, including those from Alton, go to dci.org

Free Day schedule

This is today's schedule in Alton, Ill., relayed from Travis to Bill S. to me.

7:45 Wake and cals
8:30 Breakfast
9:30-1 Rehearsal
1-2 Lunch
2 Buses leave for free time
11 Buses return from free time
12 Lights out

They'll be in Alton overnight, rehearse Wednesday and then leave for Charles City.

Free day!

It's a FREE DAY in Alton, Illinois. As I recall, Six Flags and mall crawling are what's on the agenda, but you can check it out for yourself at colts.org. Look for the link to housing and tour info

Weather forecast for Alton, Illinois

The Colts are in the Central time zone.

Alton, IL, show day

It's a show day in Alton, Illinois.

Weather forecast for Alton, Illinois

The Colts are in the Central time zone.

Bloomington/Normal photos at colts.org

Pictures from the show and snack in Bloomington/Normal, Illinois, are posted at colts.org. To see them, click HERE

DeKalb photos at colts.org

Pictures from rehearsal, dinner and the show in DeKalb, Illinois, are posted at colts.org. To see them, click HERE

Grand Excursion 2004

Click for information on Grand Excursion 2004

Grand Excursion

It's Grand Excursion day in Dubuque.

Weather forecast for Dubuque, Iowa

The Colts are in the Central time zone.

In Dubuque

It's laundry day in Dubuque.

Weather forecast for Dubuque, Iowa

The Colts are in the Central time zone.

Report from "Mata Hari"

(Another in a series of road reports from Bill Symoniak)

The Colts made it in on time this morning in Metamora, Ill., about 4:30. "No one here to meet us, so got to sit until about 5 for someone before we could get into the dang school," Bill says.

Today's Menus

Breakfast
Egg casserole with bacon
Pancakes and waffles
Bananas and oranges

Lunch
Cod sandwich
Mac and cheese or potato salad
Sliced apples
Pudding parfait

Dinner
Taco bake
Lettuce or fruit salad from the can
Corn
Brownies
And "Boy, I don’t know what that says. I can’t read it," Bill says

Snack
Pretzels with cheese

"The schedule here in "Mata Hari or whatever this town is called." (Metamora, Illinois)

8:45 Cals
9:15 Breakfast
10:15 Vis
12:30 Lunch
1:30 Warmup
2 Ensemble -- American Overture, Ballad and Closer
4:15 Dinner, pack and load
6 Depart for show
7 Arrive at show site
Step off at 8:25

Today's cooks
Jody
Marlin
Jim
Bill
Cliff
and Kathleen is still helping out

Bill says the kids are eager to get in town for laundry tomorrow.
Brass will have laundry in the morning
Purcussion and guard laundry in the afternoon
They flip-flop because in the afternoon the brass practices with the Dubuque Symphony

Normal show day

It's a show day in Normal, Illinois.

Weather forecast for Normal, Illinois

The Colts are in the Central time zone.

Scores from Enid competition

Click on the title to go to dci.org and see the scores from last night.

Fan guide for Friday night's show

If you're planning to go to the Bloomington/Normal, Ill., show on Friday, there's a nifty fan guide in .pdf form that you can download from dci.org by clicking HERE. It has a map and driving directions to the Illinois State stadium.

Rehearsal day in Linn

It's a rehearsal day in Linn, Missouri.

Weather forecast for Linn, Missouri

The Colts are in the Central time zone.

Additional from Enid

The cooks are extremely grateful for the outpouring of support and cookies from everyone. They've gotten cookies from parents, cookies from the folks in Linn, Mo., cookies from the boosters in Carl Junction, Mo., and cookies and watermelon when they arrived in Enid.

Thanks for the cookies -- but the head cook says that's enough for now.

If you still want to help out, they could use more fresh fruit. Any kind. The fruit's so good for the corps and the members enjoy it so much. Keep it coming!

Thanks from today's cooks:
Jody
Bill
Cliff
Jim
Marlin
and Kathleen


Everybody's in
Bill says everyone marched the whole show Tuesday night in Pittsburg. So they're all in. No one's standing on the sideline anymore in the last half of the show. At least they weren't last night. (Yay, Aaron. Yay, Leslie. And yay all the rest!)

Looks like a good weather day in Enid: sunny and breezy with a high in the low 80s.

Thanks for the update, Bill!

Report from Enid

(Bill Symoniak comes through again)

The corps got in to the housing site about 5:15 a.m.

9 - Wake
9:15 - Cals
9:45 - Breakfast
10:45 - Vis
1 - Lunch
2 - Sectionals
3 - Ensemble
5 - Dinner, pack and load for the show

Step off at 8:28 p.m.

The Colts "had a good show last night," Bill says. "They didn't get the score they deserved." (Colts got a 63.75)

Menus for today

Breakfast
Banana-Chocolate Chip Muffins
Cinnamon Streusel Muffins
Egg Bake with stuff in it
Cantaloupe

Lunch
Pasta Salad with veggies
Cheesy Biscuits
Cookies ("Buncha, buncha cookies")

Dinner
Salisbury Steak
Mashed Potatoes
Fruit Salad
Cauliflower and Cheese
Cookies ("Does that sound familiar?")


Bill says: "Tonight we have a long-ass drive." Get in to Linn, Mo., about 9:30 a.m. Thursday. "It's gonna be a pain."

Good luck on a long night, my friends.

Show day in Enid

It's a show day in Enid, Oklahoma.

Weather forecast for Enid, Oklahoma

The Colts are in the Central time zone.

Report from Carl Junction, Missouri

Another update from Bill Symoniak, this time from Carl Junction, Missouri. Keep 'em coming, Bill.

The corps arrived about 4 a.m. and members got their stuff unloaded and stored away before more rain hit. Harrison Rowland (contra player last year who is out this year with a broken ankle suffered while playing softball) was there to greet the corps and help them get settled in. Thanks, Harrison.

Corps woke at 8:15. Cals and breakfast inside the school because of the rain.

Schedule
Vis until noon
Lunch
1 warmup
1:30 ensemble
3:30 Dinner, pack and load

Lunch menu
Sub sandwiches
French fries
Cookies (Bill said all of Linn, Missouri, showed up with cookies yesterday. "They just kept coming," he said.)

Both Jim and Marlin Rowland joined today as cooks, solving the severe cook shortage of yesterday. Harrison was doing good enough with his recovery that both could travel with the Colts.

Band parents and supporters of the Carl Junction high school band were providing dinner tonight, giving the cooks a break.
Hamburgers
Baked Beans
Potato Salad
and of course
Cookies................

Overheard on tour
The hornline made a big jump yesterday. "A good practice. Really good progress."
(And no, I can't reveal my source)

Personal note: I got to see Phantom Regiment rehearse at our high school last night. But it just wasn't the same as seeing the Colts.

Show day in Pittsburg (Kansas, that is)

It's a show day in Pittsburg, Kansas.

Weather forecast for Pittsburg, Kansas (No, it's not 104 degrees in Kansas.)

The Colts are in the Central time zone.

Report from the REAL cooktruck in Linn

Bill Symoniak called in this moring from the road. Thanks, Bill!

The corps arrived in Linn, Mo., this morning at 7 a.m. -- ahead of schedule. They were greeted by rain a half-hour before breakfast, so they served breakfast inside. Because the cooks were WAY understaffed today, Mary did something she swore she would never do again: she's working in the kitchen to help out. Make sure to tell Mary thank you when you visit the corps! Heck, tell everybody thanks!

Bill said, "The kids are stoked about the score last night." And they should be. Great performance.

Lunch today is:

Tomato soup
Egg salad sandwiches
Fresh fruit (from the Harrises)

The Colts have a dog and pony show in shakos, white T-shirts and black shorts tonight for the folks in Linn. Bill says they have been advertising the show in towns for 60 miles around.

Monday's schedule:

10:15 Vis
1 p.m. Lunch
2 p.m. Sectionals
5 Dinner
6 Ensemble
7 Dog & pony
8:30 Snack
10 p.m. Depart

dci.org event coverage from DeKalb

See coverage of the Colts' DeKalb performance by visiting dci.org

Scores from De Kalb

Go to dci.org for scores from Sunday night in De Kalb. The Colts scored 64.90.

Rehearsal day in Linn

It's a rehearsal day in Linn, Missouri.

Weather forecast for Linn, Missouri

The Colts are in the Central time zone.

Scores from Makato

Click to go to dci.org for scores from Mankato. The Colts scored 60.00.

Show day in DeKalb

It's a show day in DeKalb, Illinois. And it's Father's Day. And I'm gonna be there!

Weather forecast for DeKalb, IL

The Colts are in the Central time zone.

More housing info at colts.org

Click HERE to go to colts.org for updated housing info and LOTS more. Katherine has done a great job on the formatting and by including a lot of show information for each stop. Kind of one-stop shopping for those looking to catch up with the Colts.

Scores from Menasha

Click HERE to go to dci.org for Friday night's scores. The Colts scored 59.2.

Show Day in Mankato

It's a show day in Mankato, Minnesota.

Weather forecast for Mankato, Minnesota

The Colts are in the Central time zone.

Upcoming Housing Sites

This list of upcoming housing sites is provided to assist parents, friends, and volunteers that plan to visit the Colts or are joining the tour.

Sunday, June 20
Arrive 8:30 a.m.
DeKalb High School
1515 South 4th Street
DeKalb, IL

Monday, June 21
Arrive 8:00 a.m.
Linn High School
1212 East Main
Linn, MO

Tuesday, June 22
Arrive 3:30 a.m.
Carl Junction High School
Carl Junction, MO

Wednesday, June 23
Arrive 5:00 a.m.
Waller Junior High School
Enid, OK

Thursday, June 24
Arrive 9:30 a.m.
Linn High School
1212 East Main
Linn, MO

Menasha Show Day

First DCI contest tonight in Menasha, Wisconsin. It's the Americanos' home show. There's some information at their canos.org website.

Weather forecast for Menasha, Wisconsin

The Colts are in the Central time zone.

Summer Dress Rehearsal

Summer Dress Rehearsal tonight in Lancaster, Wisconsin.

Weather forecast for Lancaster, Wisconsin

The Colts are in the Central time zone.

Tour "moments"

Can you have a tour moment when you're not even on tour? Don't know what a tour moment is? I think a tour moment is just like one of those passages in a corps' show that brings the whole crowd to its feet because of a spectacular musical performance or a guard move that dazzles you so much you just have to say "Wow, that's really cool."

Tour moments, to me, are things that happen while traveling with the corps that make me stop and say, "Wow, that's really cool." Like striking up a conversation in a small-town supermarket about why you're buying a dozen gallons of milk and every loaf of bread in the store and ending up trying to explain to the checkout lady why you're doing this seemingly crazy 24-hour-a-day job of taking care of 135 kids who are playing, spinning and marching their guts out while on your VACATION, while the whole time thinking to yourself that it's not really crazy but a really, really cool thing to be doing.

There are a couple of others from last summer: an incredible evening rehearsal in an Indiana gym that left me muttering "I don't believe what I just saw" for several days and an absolutely magical evening in a stadium in Illinois with the sun going down over a nearby cornfield that was straight out of "Field of Dreams." But what I wanted to get back to was the question that started this whole ramble.

Can you have a tour moment when you're not even on tour?

It happened to me yesterday at lunch when I stopped at the grocery to buy enough puffed rice cereal and marshmallows to make Rice Krispie bars for, oh about 160 people. The woman at the checkout said, "You must be making treats for a crowd." Which led to an explanation of drum corps and life on the road with 160 people and, yes, the Colts are going to be in Ankeny this year and you've really, really got to go. And there it was. That "Wow, that's really cool" feeling and at least for the moment, it was a tour moment.

Thanks, Colts. And here's to many, many more.

(Got a tour moment to share? Even one from home? Just click on the word "comments" at the end of this message and let the rest of us in on it....)

Lancaster, WI

A rehearsal day in Lancaster, Wisconsin.

Weather forecast for Lancaster, Wisconsin

The Colts are in the Central time zone.

Friday's the first DCI show

The dci.org website has a page of information about the where and when of the Colt's first DCI show Friday night in Menasha, Wisconsin.

It's the home show of the Americanos, and there's also some information at their website.

Brass 'n' Brats Show

Brass 'n' Brats show at 7:30 p.m. in Belmont. This performance is scheduled to be in full uniforms and the Colt Cadets are supposed to be there too. Sure wish I was going to be....

Weather forecast for Belmont, Wisconsin

The Colts are in the Central time zone.

Pictures from West Liberty

A couple of pictures from brass visual warmup in West Liberty are here.

New Camp Video

Click here to go to the colts.org homepage and Nic Champagne's cool new video from camp in West Liberty, Iowa.

Belmont, WI

Weather forecast for Belmont, Wisconsin

The Colts are in the Central time zone.

Calling All Cookies!!!

 You are needed on tour with the Colts Drum and Bugle Corps immediately!!  Report at your first opportunity!!

The head cooks for the Colts report that there is a severe shortage of homemade cookies and/or bars for their industrious and lovable kids.  This cannot continue!  The Colts have a long-standing tradition of the best food program in the activity and you Cookies are an essential part of it!

Please report in groups of 320 at a time.  You should come delivered in boxes or other disposable carriers to the Colts kitchen trailer via any parent, grandparent, sibling or friend of a corps member.  You will be welcomed at any time of the day or night – rehearsal or show site.


We need you, Cookies!  Don’t let us down!!

Go HERE to see housing and show information as it is posted at the colts.org website.

(Message provided by Polly Hauser) 

Belmont, WI

Weather forecast for Belmont, Wisconsin

The Colts are in the Central time zone.

From a VERY quick visit to West Liberty

Here's cooktruck stuff from Friday morning in West Liberty, Iowa. A very quick visit to drop off Aaron for tour.

Friday's schedule:

7:15 Cals
8:00 Breakfast
9:00 Vis
12:30 Lunch
1:30 Sectionals
4:00 Ens. threshing/ballad (? hard to read Gibby's writing sometimes)
5:30 Dinner -- hornline dot test 1st 10 min of dinner
6:45 Warm-up
7:30 Dog & pony
8:00 Pack & Load
9:30 Depart

* HORNS STADIUM for visual

If you have not turned in your car wash sheets, please do so to Dave Svaleson (the silver fox bus driver)

Keep pushing! It's your corps -- what do you want it to be?

You now have field lining paint. 8 cases of it in back of equip. trailer. Damien

The signboard said (I swear I don't make these things up):
Today is Thursday, June 11
(It was Friday, June 11. Funny how the little things -- like the day of the week -- lose their importance once you're on tour.)

We are in West Liberty, Iowa

Cooks are: Barry, Kelly, Gwen, Marcia, Jim, Sarah, Jim, Suzanne, Tom

Breakfast menu
Egg Casserole
Sausage

Find Tom or Mary -- Uniform Shoes Need To Be Picked Up Today

HORNLINE

1st 10 minutes of dinner
1st dot test Fri at dinner pages 1-10
:)
know count and coordinates (yardline/hash relationships) to which side of the field (1 or 2)

Car Wash in Dubuque

Weather forecast for Dubuque, Iowa

The Colts are in the Central time zone.

It's a show day in West Liberty

Weather forecast for West Liberty, Iowa

The Colts are in the Central time zone.

Photos from Springville stay and show

Go HERE for a few photos from the Colts' stay and dog and pony show in Springville, Iowa, on Tuesday.

Just another day in paradise

Weather forecast for West Liberty, Iowa

The Colts are in the Central time zone.

Welcome to West Liberty

Weather forecast for West Liberty, Iowa


From a brief visit to the actual cooktruck Tuesday night in Springville:
Dinner menu:
Orange Glazed Pork Chops or Veggie Burgers for the vegetarians
Green Beans
Mac & Cheese

Spice Cake
and the ever popular Peanut Butter & Jelly


The cooks were:
Polly, Jim, Tom, Suzanne, Marilyn, Kelly (sorry if I missed anyone)


Announcements from the board:
No uniforms for the dog & pony
To Everyone: Everyone who is riding bus #63 needs to take off all your stuff when we get to West Liberty tonight. Any questions, ask Damien. Thanks.



Tuesday's schedule:
7:00 Wake
7:15 Cals
8:00 Breakfast
9:00 Visual-Opener/Threshers
12:30 Lunch
1:30 Sectionals
3:00 Ensemble
5:30 Dinner
6:30 Warm-up
7:00 Dog & Pony/Ens. Opener
8:30 Pack & Load
10:00 Depart


The Colts are in the Central time zone.

Mail drops posted

Mail drops for the 2004 tour are posted HERE on the colts.org website.

Housing and show info

Cornfield tour housing and show information through June 17 is posted HERE at the colts.org website. Lots of other stuff too.

It's a performance day

Weather forecast for Springville, Iowa

Colts "dog and pony show" at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Springville, Iowa.


The Colts are in the Central time zone.

Judges do spring training too

Read the article on judge meeting at dci.org

Day 1

Weather forecast for Springville, Iowa

First day of summer tour for the entire corps.
Colts "dog and pony show" at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Springville.


The Colts are in the Central time zone.

Get Going

Weather forecast for Dubuque, Iowa

Weather forecast for Springville, Iowa

Members are to report Sunday to the Dubuque Greyhound Park no later than 7 p.m. for 8 p.m. departure and start of tour. Greg also said at Monday's meeting that they could report to the housing site in Springville to save those coming from the West driving all the way to Dubuque and back to Springville.
Directions and a map to the Dubuque Greyhound Park.
(Thanks to Bill Symoniak for the link)


The Colts are in the Central time zone.

Get Packed

Weather forecast for Dubuque, Iowa

Today's favorite: mustgoes

Brass line scheduled to report Sunday to the Dubuque Greyhound Park or the housing site in Springville.
Directions and a map to the Dubuque Greyhound Park.
(Thanks to Bill Symoniak for the link)


The Colts are in the Central time zone.

Out With the Old...

Here's a blast from the past. The messages and map from the last day at Finals in Orlando last year. Still on the cooktruck when it was getting cleaned up at May camp.

Friday, Headed for Sunday and Tour

Weather forecast for Dubuque, Iowa

What color is the punch today?

Brass line scheduled to report Sunday to the Dubuque Greyhound Park or the housing site in Springville.
Directions and a map to the Dubuque Greyhound Park.
(Thanks to Bill Symoniak for the link)


The Colts are in the Central time zone.

Interesting - or not - Colts fact of the day

If you type Colts corps into Google and click "Google Search," it returns 19,200 items. If you click "I'm Feeling Lucky," it takes you to www.colts.org

Pre-tour Camp Continues

Weather forecast for Dubuque, Iowa

This is the section where anecdotes from the road should go. (Like, one time last year on tour, Big Steve the contra player picked me up and hugged me because we had crunchy peanut butter.) I'll post a toll-free number in the cooktruck so you can call me and give me items to share.

Today's favorite menu item: Peanut Butter and Jelly

Brass line scheduled to report Sunday to the Dubuque Greyhound Park or the housing site in Springville.
Directions and a map to the Dubuque Greyhound Park.
(Thanks to Bill Symoniak for the link)


The Colts are in the Central time zone.

Colts in Forzato feature at dci.org

It's "All Business" for Colt bari players