Cavaliers Gear Up for 2010 Season

Friday, March 26th, 2010 - 1:52 PM
By Michael Boo
Posted by Chris Lugo

The chill, ice and snow are slowly leaving The Cavaliers hometown of Rosemont; and before you know it, the 2010 DCI tour will be underway and the Green Machine will be thrilling and captivating audiences at shows throughout much of the country.

The road to Indianapolis starts with a bang on June 18 in Allentown, PA, when The Cavaliers meet head-on two of the top three corps from 2009, Carolina Crown and The Cadets. The same trio of top-tier corps heads into Chesapeake, VA the next night. After passing through Columbia, SC and picking up Spirit and Teal Sound (new to World Class), the next stop is DCI Louisville on June 22, the place where the Green Machine first meets most of the World Class corps from the Midwest, including 2009 finalists Bluecoats, Glassmen and Phantom Regiment, as well as a rejuvenated Madison Scouts and Pioneer.

On June 25 at DCI Central Illinois in Normal, the corps meets Carolina Crown and The Cadets again, with regional powerhouses Blue Stars and Colts added to the mix. For the next three nights, The Cadets and Blue Stars follow the corps into Madison, WI, Stillwater, MN and Mankato, MN, with one last meeting of all three corps in Dubuque, IA on June 30.

The July 1 show in Oswego, IL has long been popular with fans from Chicagoland, many of whom will have their first shot at seeing The Cavaliers square off with the only other all-male corps in the country, the Madison Scouts.

The corps’ first home show, the Pageant of Drums, will be held Saturday, July 3 in Michigan City. The full line-up includes Blue Saints, Colt Cadets, Colts, Glassmen, Legends, Madison Scouts, Teal Sound, The Cadets and The Cavaliers. Tickets are NOW available right here on cavaliers.org.

The Pageant of Drums is a must-attend event this year for a number of reasons: It’s the 50th anniversary of both the first drum corps event in Michigan City and the corps’ sponsorship of the show. All corps in attendance will be performing a special “Salute to the Flag” prior to the show, and all corps honor guards will appear with military honor guards for “O Canada” and “The Star Spangled Banner.” All branches of the military service, plus the Merchant Marines, will be represented, filling the field with flags.

In addition, exhibitions by the Classic Cavaliers and the Toronto Optimists Alumni will be involved in “A Look Back Through the Years.”

Heading back east to Columbus, OH on July 7, the corps first meets Boston Crusaders in Pittsburgh, PA on July 8. Passing through Akron, OH the next night, the corps hits two consecutive nights of large shows, DCI Kalamazoo on July 10 with a field of twelve corps and The Cavaliers’ second home show, Cavalcade of Brass in Naperville, IL.

The annual Naperville show is another must-see contest for Chicagoland fans, with Blue Stars, Carolina Crown, Colt Cadets, Madison Scouts, Pioneer, Racine Scouts, Spirit and The Cavaliers in attendance. As with the earlier Michigan City show, tickets are now available on cavaliers.org.

From Naperville, the corps heads west to Omaha, NE on July 14, where they have their first encounter with Blue Devils, The Cadets, Blue Knights and Santa Clara Vanguard.

DCI Minneapolis on July 17 is the first truly massive show of the season, with 24 corps on tap, including two senior corps. If you thought online discussions of Omaha will kill some bandwidth, that’s nothing to what will happen when The Cavaliers meet Blue Devils, Blue Knights, Blue Stars, Bluecoats, Boston Crusaders, Carolina Crown, Colts, Crossmen (for the first time), Glassmen, Madison Scouts, Phantom Regiment, Pioneer, Santa Clara Vanguard, Spirit, Teal Sound, The Cadets and Troopers, along with four Open Class corps. That’s ALL the top-12 corps from 2009, with a number of corps that are gunning for a top-12 spot.

The next night sees The Cavaliers in West Des Moines, IA and on July 21, the corps will stop off in Broken Arrow, OK on the way to three consecutive nights of massive Texas shows. The corps will compete with half the World Class corps at DCI Dallas on July 22 and will again see the same corps at DCI Houston on July 23, including Blue Devils, Blue Knights, Boston Crusaders, Colts, Crossmen, Madison Scouts, Phantom Regiment, Pioneer, Teal Sound and The Cadets.

The DCI Southwestern Championship in San Antonio will now be held as a two-night outdoor event taking place on Saturday and Sunday, July 24 and 25, at Judson Independent School District’s D.W. Rutledge Stadium (located just northeast of San Antonio in Converse, Texas). Twenty-two of 23 World Class corps will perform over the two-day competition.

The Individual & Ensemble Competition for World Class corps will take place for the first time ever in San Antonio. The venue for the two-day Individual & Ensemble Competition is still to be confirmed.

The corps’ third home show arrives July 26 at the Red River Thunder in Denton, TX. Corps in attendance will be Blue Stars, Carolina Crown, Crossmen, Madison Scouts, Revolution, The Cadets, The Cavaliers and Velvet Knights. As with the other home shows, tickets are only available here on cavaliers.org.

The following night will see The Cavaliers take on Blue Devils and The Cadets in a Louisiana location to be determined, and on July 29, they will go to it with Santa Clara Vanguard.

July 31 is the massive DCI Atlanta Southwestern Championship, featuring every one of the DCI World Class corps, including Jersey Surf. August 2 has the corps taking a short trip up the road to Sevierville, TN and a much longer trip to Rome, NY for the August 5 showdown with Santa Clara Vanguard.

The final competition for The Cavaliers prior to the DCI World Championships will be at the August 6 Day One show of the DCI Eastern Classic in Allentown, PA, when half the World Class corps will compete together at the Friday night show and the other half will compete on Saturday. The Cavaliers will be joined Friday by Blue Devils, Blue Stars, Carolina Crown, Cascades, Colts, Glassmen, Pioneer, Spirit, The Academy and Troopers.

After that, all that remains is the DCI World Championships in Indianapolis on August 12, 13 and 14. Make sure you get your tickets in The Cavaliers block of seats at DCI Finals, in the new Lucas Oil Stadium.

You may check out all The Cavaliers’ shows at the following link: http://bit.ly/2010cavtour

Start planning now what shows you’ll be attending to cheer on the boys in green and start saving up those pennies for the newest Cavaliers souvie items, available at each of those contests. As always, The Cavaliers will be the best selection of souvies in all of drum corps and you’ll have to buy multiple items since you just won’t be able to resist what we’ve got in store for you in 2010.

The corps’ repertoire and show concept will also be announced soon, so remember to check back often. And this year, The Cavaliers is launching a massive effort to keep fans up-to-date with what’s going on with the corps, from the pre-season through the DCI World Championship Finals. It will be worth it to favorite this site because you won’t want to miss what’s coming next.

The Cavaliers 2010 Performance Schedule

June 18 - Allentown, PA
June 19 - Chesapeake, VA
June 20 - Ft. Mill, SC
June 22 - Louisville, KY
June 25 - Normal, IL
June 26 - Madison, WI
June 27 - Stillwater, MN
June 28 - Mankato, MN
June 30 - Dubuque, IA
July 1 - Oswego, IL
July 3 - Michigan City, IN
July 7 - Dublin, OH
July 8 - Pittsburgh, PA
July 9 - Akron, OH
July 10 - Kalamazoo, MI
July 11 - Naperville, IL
July 14 - Omaha, NE
July 15 - Sioux Falls, SD
July 17 - Minneapolis, MN
July 18 - Central, IA
July 21 - Broken Arrow, OK
July 22 - Dallas, TX
July 23 - Houston, TX
July 25 - San Antonio, TX
July 26 - Denton, TX
July 27 - TBA, LA
July 29 - Gadsden, AL
July 30- Murfreesboro
July 31 - Atlanta, GA
August 2 - Sevierville, TN
August 5 - Rome, NY
August 6 - Allentown, PA
August 8- Rosemont Picnic
August 12 – Indianapolis, IN
August 13 – Indianapolis, IN
August 14 – Indianapolis, IN
August 15 – Awards Brunch- Indianapolis, IN