Band members react during the awards ceremony at Saturday's Mud Creek Marching Festival in Hanceville. (Christy Perry for The Cullman Tribune)
HANCEVILLE – The 27th Annual Mud Creek Marching Festival was held Saturday at Hanceville High School’s Ray Talley Stadium. Bands throughout Alabama travelled to compete on what turned out to be a beautiful warm sunny day.
Seventeen bands, divided into five classifications, competed at this year’s festival.
Class A
- Carbon Hill
- Hatton
- Phil Campbell
- Meek
- Shoals Christian
- Falkville
Class AA
- Dora
- Danville
- Corner
- Winston County
- Cold Springs
Class AAA
- West Point
- Cordova
Class AAAA
- Athens
- Ardmore
Class AAAAA
- Jasper
- Pinson Valley
Hanceville High School’s Bulldog Band marched in exhibition performance following the judged performances. Their high-energy Elvis-themed field show brought everyone to their feet!
The variety of music, color, visual effects and personal flair each band presented kept the 2018 Mud Creek Marching Festival exciting and packed with fans.
Hanceville Band Booster Mark Long said, “We are excited by the bands at this year’s festival. More and more schools are hosting competitions each year, so band directors have many competitions they can choose. We were still able to attract all these great bands including the bigger schools like Athens, Ardmore, Jasper and Pinson Valley. We pride ourselves on hospitality by making sure the directors and the bus drivers are taken care of as well as having great food and extra things like ‘shout outs’ for the kids and parents.”
Long added, “Football teams have Friday, but Saturdays are for the bands to have an opportunity to show off their hard work. They compete but are also seeing the product of each other’s hard work and dedication. The support these kids have for one another is unique. Band kids are the best of the best.”
Awards
Superior (1) is the highest rating given in competition. Each component (drum major, color guard, majorettes, dance line, percussion and band) is rated individually. Not all bands have each of these components.
Bands receiving all superior ratings were:
Hatton, Shoals Christian, Dora, Corner, Winston County, Cold Springs, West Point, Cordova, Athens, Ardmore, Jasper and Pinson Valley
Meek received superior ratings for Drum Major, Color Guard and Band.
Falkville received superior ratings for Drum Major, Color Guard and Band.
Danville received superior ratings for Drum Major, Color Guard and Percussion.
Best in Class A
- Drum Major- Shoals Christian
- Color Guard- Hatton
- Majorettes- Shoals Christian
- Percussion- Shoals Christian
- Band- Shoals Christian
Best in Class AA
- Drum Major- Corner
- Color Guard- Cold Springs
- Majorettes- Winston County
- Dance Line- Dora
- Percussion- Corner
- Band- Corner
Best in Class AAA
- Drum Major- West Point
- Color Guard- Cordova
- Majorettes- West Point
- Dance Line- West Point
- Percussion- West Point
- Band- Cordova
Best in Class AAAA
- Drum Major- Ardmore
- Color Guard- Athens
- Majorettes- Athens
- Percussion- Ardmore
- Band- Ardmore
Best in Class AAAAA
- Drum Major- Jasper
- Color Guard- Jasper
- Dance Line- Jasper
- Percussion- Jasper
- Band- Jasper
The Grand Champion of the Silver Division (Class A and AA) was Corner High School.
The Grand Champion of the Gold Division (Class AAA, AAAA and AAAAA) was Jasper High School.
Two special memorial awards are presented each year at the Mud Creek Marching Festival. The first was the Tam Easterwood Memorial Award, given to the color guard with the highest score regardless of classification. The award went to Jasper High School.
The second was the Vanessa Watts Memorial Award presented to the drum major with the highest score regardless of classification. This year’s award went to Ardmore High School.
Click here to see videos from Saturday's performances.
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