Monday Memory: How about a trip to Disney?
The cost of drum corps has always been challenging to the members, regardless of the year. The Bluecoats have offered the members different fundraisers over time to whittle down the cost of dues (the old fashioned way of saying "tuition"). One of the more unique ways a member could lower their out of pocket cost was a raffle to win a trip to Disney. In 1997 Drum Corps International was in the middle of a multi-year agreement to have DCI Finals in Orlando, Florida. Part of the arrangement was Disney hosting Individual & Ensemble contest as well as the (now defunct) parade the day before Prelims. The Bluecoats raffled off a grand drum corps experience to a lucky winner, offering tickets to DCI Finals, Disney park tickets, lodging in a Disney property and six tickets to the Bluecoats Hall of Fame show. Should the winning ticket be sold by a marching member, that member got an extra $100 deducted from their dues. It was a lot of opportunity that netted about $1,000 for the corps. While not the biggest of fundraisers for the corps (the revenue generated from this raffle was less than half of a performance check at a DCI show), it certainly gave one lucky winner a heck of an experience for a fraction of the price.