Affiliate - Orange City, IA (Oct. 12th, 2024)

[bigtrombone]

The Dutchmen Field Championships will be held at Northwestern College in Orange City, IA, on Oct. 12th, 2024.

Confirmed (5):
Bellevue East H.S., NE
Lincoln H.S., SD
MOC-Floyd Valley H.S., IA (Host school/exhibition)
Pipestone Area H.S., MN
Washington H.S., SD

[bigtrombone]

This was definitely a surprise to see on the affiliate list but a very welcome one! Having been to and competed at this competition this a very nice and well-run show by MOC-Floyd Valley. Here's my general run-down of what to expect if you choose to attend.

Korver Field is a stadium used by Northwestern College, a small private college in Orange City, and shared with by MOC-Floyd Valley High School. The field itself is a nice astroturf field. The main stadium can be a tight squeeze seating-wise. This event usually draws around 20-25 bands across the upper plains and the stadium, especially as the show goes into the evening, becomes more & more compact. There is also a bleacher section on the other side of the field where students of competing bands usually sit. Tight squeeze aside, it is a fantastic atmosphere for a marching band show. At the end of the competition, there is a fireworks show and all students from the competing bands come on the field to watch it before the final awards.

Now in the past this show has been a straight-line schedule from early-mid afternoon to late evening with about an hour long dinner break. However, this year they are switching to a prelims/finals format with the Top 8 highest scoring bands from prelims advancing to finals. The Dutchmen Field Championships usually draws a good amount of bands from South Dakota, Iowa, and Nebraska. In terms of who may turn up here, Bellevue East (NE) I think is confirmed to be attending. One or two other Omaha area schools may also attend. A great plethora of Western Iowa bands should show up including West Lyon & the Sioux City schools. Sioux Falls Jefferson & Sioux Falls Washington are most likely to show up here from South Dakota. Sioux Falls Lincoln might show up, but IMO are more likely to be at Youth in Music.

If you do go, Orange City, while a nice town, doesn't have that much seeing as how it's a small college town. Only 2 hotels in town so for more options, Sioux Falls is an hour northwest of town and Sioux City is 45 minutes southwest.

[bigtrombone]

Confirmed:

Pipestone Area H.S., MN (Calendar - Orange City Marching Competition)