The Eastern Illinois University Panther Marching Band & Division of Intercollegiate Athletics invite high school students in grades 10-12 to join us for the annual PMB Member for a Day on Saturday, November 11, 2023 at O’Brien Stadium on the campus of Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois.
This annual event is is an excellent opportunity to experience the game day performance and atmosphere of a College Marching Band. Students spend the entire day with the Panther Marching Band from our morning dress rehearsal - to our pregame performances at the Booth Library and President's Tent - to Halftime - to our postgame tradition at the Alumni Clock Tower.
2022 PMB MEMBER FOR A DAY SCHEDULE!
Below is the 2022 PMB Member for a Day Schedule and Information.
The 2023 schedule should be somewhat similar.
9:30-10:15 am - Registration at the front of O’Brien Stadium
9:45 am – PMB warm-up and Pre-Game / Time Warp rehearsal starts (Member for a Day students are welcome to register early and come and watch our rehearsal)
10:25 am - Welcome and Introductions - Meet Prof. Boggs, PMB Director, and the section leaders you will spend the day with.
10:30 – Member for a Day Rehearsal with the PMB at O'Brian Stadium - Parents are welcome to watch! Music to rehearse includes: We Don’t Talk About Bruno, Thriller, Hot Time, War Chant, Fight Song (full, short and tag), Shout It Out, Industry Baby, Believer. It sounds like a lot but you’ll pick up on all this very quickly and you'll have a BLAST putting this much music together in one rehearsal!
11:10 am – Rehearsal concludes
11:30 am – ‘Brunch’ in the Doudna Fine Arts Center (Art Wing)
12:30 pm – PMB performance at the Mellin Steps (Library Quad)
12:45 pm - March to the Stadium - Join the ranks of the PMB as we parade to the stadium.
1:00 pm - Tailgate performances - Help get the Panther spirit going!
1:35 pm – PMB Pregame performance on the field
2:00 pm - Kickoff - Join the PMB in the stands and cheer your heart out!
3:20ish pm - Halftime Performance! - After Halftime you are welcome to join us for the remainder of the game or you can leave at this point.
5:15 pm - Game ends - PMB ends game day by marching to the Alumni Clock tower in the center of campus for a special postgame tradition.
For questions, contact Prof. David Boggs at dgboggs@eiu.edu or text at 618-567-3893.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION!
updated Thursday, November 10, 2022
Apparently some students are unable to receive the e-mails we are sending due to server security. Therefore, I am posting the majority of the answers to questions and some additional details here. This is the information which was sent via e-mail last week.
Some additional information for you regarding the event:
-We sent out a link to a OneDrive account for you to download your music on Sunday night. If you did not receive this then please e-mail David Boggs at dgboggs@eiu.edu from your HOME e-mail account. School server security often prohibits e-mails from outside being sent to school e-mail addresses. Unfortunately, I cannot post that link here. While it looks like there is a LOT of music (We Don't Talk About Bruno, Thriller, War Chant, Hot Time, our Fight Song, Shout It Out, Industry Baby and Believer) you'll find that it comes together SO QUICKLY on Saturday morning. Just look through everything, especially Bruno and Thriller, (both halftime charts) and the PMB will carry you! I guarantee you will have a BLAST!!!
-The weather turns COLDER on Friday and Saturday next week sooooo.....dress for the day will be blue jeans and whatever else you need to stay warm. I recommend dressing in layers, wearing a sweatshirt or hoodie in your school colors and bringing a heavy jacket. Do NOT plan on wearing your school's band uniform! It's supposed to be 45 degrees as a high so let's aim for your comfort level rather than what looks uniform.
-Please plan on supplying all your own instruments at the Member for a Day! We will not have instruments for you to borrow. We utilize flip folders and lyres here at EIU for our performances. If you don't have a lyre / flip folder then we recommend that you borrow a Manhasset / Wenger music stand from school and tape your halftime music to the stand. That's a LOT easier than trying to hold your music and play at the same time (difficult with some brass and obviously impossible with woodwinds and percussion!). Wind is supposed to be strong that day so I'd suggest taping with heavier tape like masking tape or duct tape.
-Brunch on Saturday (free of charge) will include pancakes and sausage from WB's in Charleston, along with fruits cups, skim, 1% and 2% milk and orange juice. We will also be supplying bottled water (2), chips and snack crackers / cookies in the stands during the game. If you have dietary restrictions that prohibit you from eating the meal or snacks provided, then we suggest that you bring your own lunch and snacks that day. There will be a concession stand open during the game where you can purchase hamburgers, hot dogs, taco in a bag, nachos and cheese and a variety of candy and soft drinks. Stadium prices apply but $10 should get you a decent meal / snack.
-The PMB online store closed on Sunday night so that all orders could arrive here and be passed out to you on Saturday. There may be additional PMB gear available for purchase on Saturday. Unfortunately, we can only accept cash or checks. Prices will be $12 for T-shirts, $16 for long sleeve T-shirts and $26 for hoodies. We will not be reopening the online store due to the logistical issues of us shipping your items to you.