The Talladega High School Band has accepted an invitation to perform at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tenn., later this year.To help finance the trip, band members and supporters are planning a special fundraiser.
The 2007 Tailgate Party Bowl will be held Sept. 28, from 5 to 7 p.m. outside Mary Dumas Stadium before the Talladega Tigers-Pell City Panthers football game.
Band director David McDaniel said the band’s performance at the Liberty Bowl will be broadcast on ESPN, and, as far as he knows, this will be one of the first times the band will be broadcast on national television.
The tailgate party will feature food, entertainment and lots of fun, according to Yolande Allredge with Garing Business Machines, one of the sponsors of the event. Hot dogs and Royal Sausage plates will be available for $5 each, and there will also be chips, drinks and desserts. The Zora Ellis Junior High School Band and the Talladega High School Band along with other performing artists will provide live entertainment.
T-shirts will be made for the event, with all of the sponsors listed on the back, and will be pre-sold so that students and sponsors can wear the shirts that day.
There will be an order form in The Daily Home to buy T-shirts or contact Garing Business Machines. Allredge said sponsors are still being sought for the event. The deadline for sponsors is Sept. 14, and the cost is $100. Allredge asked that the T-shirts be worn at all businesses the Friday of the tailgate party to support the event.
McDaniel said band members were excited when they learned they were attending the Liberty Bowl.
The band has been practicing all summer and after school preparing for marching season. The band works hard, they are focused and disciplined, McDaniel said.
Band students will have other fundraisers to help pay for the trip to the Liberty Bowl, including car washes, a concession stand at the NASCAR race, and selling Krispy Kreme donuts.
The Liberty Bowl will give the band a chance to compete with bands from all around the country in four different competitions, including marching, parade, concert and jazz band.
While in Memphis, the band will be staying at the Lorraine Motel, where Martin Luther King Jr. was shot.
The 49th annual Liberty Bowl will take place Dec. 29 at Memorial Stadium.
