EIU Panther Marching Band

 47^TH Annual 

Panther Marching Band Festival

General Information

The Eastern Illinois University Panther Marching Band invites YOU to join us for the 47^th Annual Panther Marching Band Festival on Saturday, October 12 in O’Brien Stadium on the campus of Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, Illinois.

We are very excited to be part of a pilot program which will potentially offer three different performance formats for participating marching bands!  One division, Open Class, will utilize BOA sheets, the second division, Scholastic Class, will utilize modified BOA sheets by taking some of the focus off the general effect caption, and the third division, Festival Class, will be a non-competitive class utilizing modified BOA sheets for comments only.  The purpose of the division of classes is so that the PMB Festival can best meet the needs of our constituents and meet their individual competitive desires based upon the financial and staffing resources that each marching band has available to them.  Festival staff will be working directly with participating band directors to ensure that directors have input into the sub-classifications within each division and that directors understand how to best choose the division in which they want their marching band to perform.  Since we are in a transitional phase with this new format we don't quite have all the details worked out but below are the guidelines which will remain consistent from last year's festival format to this new format.  We are looking forward to being part of this new format which should lead to greater inclusivity in the Illinois marching band world!  

1) Classifications within each division will be made based upon IHSA classification AND either musician size OR total band size.  Participating directors will have input into which option is the most fair and the final determination of classifications will be made by mid-September.

2) Awards will be presented in each competitive class for Best Music, Best Visual, Best General Effect, Best Percussion, Best Color Guard and the Top 3 Placements.  Grand Champion trophies will be presented for Small Class and Large Class divisions. 

3) Performance order within each class will be decided by the date the registration fee is received at EIU. (Exceptions have been made on occasion in order to provide the most participation possible.) 

4) We will continue to utilize a percussion adjudicator and color guard adjudicator in addition to the rest of the standard BOA caption adjudicators.  For the 2024 PMB Festival Open Class division these captions will include: one music performance individual, one music performance ensemble (TWO for the Scholastic Class), one visual performance individual, one visual performance ensemble, one visual general effect,and two music general effect (ONE for the scholastic class).

Registration

The registration fee for the 47th Panther Marching Band Festival is $350 if payment is received AFTER September 20th.  Registration fees received PRIOR to September 20th are $300. Online registration will open on February 1, 2024. Follow the link below.

2024 Panther Marching Band Registration Form

Registration deadline is September 1, 2024.

Checks for the $350 / $300 Registration Fee (see above) should be made out EIU and sent to:

Panther Marching Band Festival
Eastern Illinois University
600 Lincoln Ave.
Charleston, IL 61920

2023 Festival Information

• 2023 Directors Information Packet
• 2023 Festival Schedule (with warm-up times)
• 2023 Festival Program with Band Information
• Program Information Submission Form

2023 Adjudicators

Music Performance:

• Kim Fleming
• Alex Kaminsky

Music General Effect:

• Mike Madonia

Visual Performance:

• John Timmins

Visual General Effect:

• Jeff Fiedler

Percussion:

• Chris DeBerry

Color Guard:

• Joy Eslick

Panther Marching Band Festival Adjudication Forms

2023 Participants

• Alton High School Marching 100 - Alton, IL
• Belleville Township High School Marching Maroons - Belleville, IL
• Blue Ridge High School Marching Knights - Farmer City, IL
• Carterville High School - Carterville, IL
• Casey-Westfield High School Marching Warriors, Casey, IL
• Champaign Central High School - Champaign, IL
• Coal City High School - Coal City, IL
• Cumberland County High School - Greenup, IL
• East Peoria Community High School Marching Band - Peoria, IL
• Effingham High School Red Regiment- Effingham, IL
• Granite City High School Marching Warriors - Granite City, IL
• Lawrenceville High School - Lawrenceville, IL
• Marion High School - Marion, IL
• Mattoon High School - Mattoon, IL
• Mt. Carmel High School - Mt. Carmet, IL
• Newton Community High School Marching Eagles - Newton, IL
• O'Fallon Township High School, O'Fallon, IL
• Paris High School Beacon Brigade - Paris, IL
• Paxton-Buckley-Loda High School - Paxton, IL
• Richland County High School Marching Tigers - Olney, IL
• Robinson High School Marching Maroons - Robinson, IL
• Unity High School Marching Rockets - Tolono, IL

2023 Spectator Tickets and Parking Information

Tickets:

• $10 for adults
• $5 for students/senior citizens
• Children ages 5 and under are FREE
• Tickets available on the day of the event. Cash or check accepted.

Complimentary Festival Programs are available here:  2023 PMB Festival Program 

Parking:

• Parking for the festival is FREE. Spectators can park in the stadium lot to the west of the stadium or the J lot to the north.

Campus Map

We hope you will join us for the exciting and spectacular pageantry of Illinois high school marching bands at O’Brien Stadium!

Why the Panther Marching Band Festival?

• A well-maintained turf field.

• Well organized festival with a welcoming and helpful staff.

• Energetic environment that focuses on student success.

• Judges from DCI, BOA, WGI, and the best marching directors in the nation.

• High camera video of all band performances provided by EIU visual media free of charge.

• Panther Marching Band performances!
  

Contact

If you have any further questions, please contact Prof. David Boggs, Assistant Director of Bands and Director of Athletic Bands at dgboggs@eiu.edu.