The Latest
Happy Bloo Year's Eve!
There’s no better way to ring out the year 2020 by looking back at the previous decade and how BLOO it was! We’re proud to debut our fifth installment of our decade history series that takes a look at how Bluecoats evolved over time. Our previous installments on the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s were produced for our 40th Anniversary in 2012. When 2020 arrived, we began putting together that fifth episode and it may suprise you. Sure, Bluecoats had a great run of competitive success between 2010 and 2020 with three Bronze, two Silver and one Championship Gold finish, but the organization took huge strides beyond the turf. Enjoy this look back in time, to the 2010s and a very Bloo decade!
An Update On Our Planning for 2021
Today, Drum Corps International announced their intention to hold events in Indianapolis this August. Bluecoats looks forward to participating in this celebration of the marching arts in whatever capacity the public health climate allows. As always, our priority is to create a safe experience that listens to experts and faces the realities of the Covid-19 pandemic. All program operations in 2021 remain dependent on safe public health conditions.
This cancelled season has further proven that the Bluecoats Experience is about more than competitive drum corps. It’s about striving for excellence, making life-long friendships, and creating art together. In 2021 the Bluecoats organization will create programming that we’re proud to call the Bluecoats Experience, and we will do so only in ways that ensure the health, wellness, and safety of all those who participate. We cannot wait for the day the Bluecoats can safely return to the field.
Monday Memory: Happy Birthday Bluecoats!
Adorning some of our merchandise, you see the year 1972 as the origin of the Bluecoats. But would it surprise you that the birth of the Bluecoats is a little complicated? Not if you know the history of the only drum corps on the planet to win a World Championship after the corps had folded and re-organized. And Bluecoats did that twice!
Bluecoats Community Gathers At Symposium I
On the weekend we hosted the first of two Bluecoats School of the Arts Symposiums scheduled for this fall. These two-day virtual learning events are the most ambitious learning events ever programmed by Bluecoats and include a roster of award-winning and world-renowned keynote guests.
Symposium I included keynote guests Jens Lindemann, world-renowned trumpet performer and professor; Robert ‘Sput’ Searight, Grammy-award winning drummer; Jim Moore, Emmy and Tony award-winning choreographer; and Greg Lagola, world-renowned fashion designer and choreographer.
Monday Memory: When the Banquet was after Thanksgiving
For about half of the existence of the Bluecoats, the season-ending banquet happened the day after Thanksgiving. It was a day of endings and beginnings, as the first rehearsal of the next season began the next morning. Mostly held at the (former) Four Winds banquets facility in northeast Canton, it was a time for everyone to dress up (for once) and to hug and cry and laugh and smile.
Long before there was social media and cell phones, when long-distance phone calls actually cost money, the Banquet ended a long “off season” where you had virtually no communication with your drum corps family. Out of towners would get a hotel room and arrive early (and stay up late). Other than perhaps move-ins, Banquet night may have been the most anticipated date on the calendar.
An Inside Look at Bluecoats School of the Arts
If you're not sure if a Bluecoats School of the Arts Symposium is right for you or you're not familiar with the School of the Arts user interface, this video is for you!
Bluecoats Sweepstakes Winners Celebration
Join CEO Mike Scott and CFO/COO Genevieve Geisler as they celebrate our Sweepstakes winners and other supporters!
