News

Day as a Knight gets young kids excited about music, band

Posted August 18, 2012 10:54 am

Submitted by the Prospect High School Band Boosters

Sam Buttitta, 4, left, and Connor Michael, 3, both of Arlington Heights, test their budding musical talents. Courtesy of B-L Pellicore/Prospect Band Boosters

They came in all sizes — aspiring young musicians, dancers or families who just wanted to enjoy an afternoon “playing” with the award-winning Prospect Marching Knights, Prospect High School’s marching band and color guard.

According to band booster and event organizer Bruce Nejdl, the goal of this “Day as a Knight” interactive musical fun fair, which took place Aug. 12 on the high school campus, was to provide a day of family fun and musical education.

“Our mission is to get kids excited about music at an early age,” he said. “It doesn’t matter where they live or go to school — the point is to give them a fun musical experience that will spark their interest in the fine arts.”

Some of the 300 family members in attendance came from as far away as Lake Zurich, as well as Jefferson Park in Chicago, Palatine, Des Plaines, Prospect Heights, Arlington Heights and Mount Prospect.

All proceeds from this event will help support the state champion Prospect Marching Knights as they prepare for their 2012 competitive marching season. Dates are:

Ÿ Sept. 8: Lake Park High School, Roselle;

Ÿ Sept. 22: Chicagoland Marching Band Championship, Wheeling;

Ÿ Sept. 29: Knight of Champions, Prospect High School;

Ÿ Oct. 13: Illini Marching Band Festival, Champaign;

Ÿ Oct. 19-20: Bands of America Super Regional, St. Louis;

Ÿ Oct. 27: state of Illinois Band Championship, Bloomington.

The PMK also performs at each home game of the Prospect High School varsity football team: Aug. 24 and 31; Sept. 21 and Oct. 5 (homecoming).

The PMK boosters would like to thank the following businesses for their generous sponsorship of this event: Quinlan and Fabish; Fix This! Musical Instrument Repair, Palatine; Miller Industrial, Elk Grove Village; Ace Hardware, Mount Prospect; Kobler Enterprises, Arlington Heights; CD One-Price Cleaners, Arlington Heights; Addison Building Supplies, Arlington Heights; eDOC, Mount Prospect; Dave’s Specialty Foods; Ryder Truck; Xactika; Mariano’s; Panino’s Pizzeria; Guitar Center, Arlington Heights; The Choo-Choo Café, Des Plaines.

Twin sisters Genevieve and Claudine Bellot, 9, of Des Plaines enjoy the music they make on a marimba in the instrument petting zoo. Courtesy of B-L Pellicore/Prospect Band Boosters

Kaitlin Bohnen, 9, Arlington Heights enjoys her new color guard hair style. Courtesy of B-L Pellicore/Prospect Band Boosters

Joe Buttitta, 3, and Grant, 4, and Alison Biewenga, 8, all of Arlington Heights, compete in a game of percussion Simon Plays. Courtesy of B-L Pellicore/Prospect Band Boosters

Mark, 8, and Matt, 10, Haddad (throwing) of Arlington Heights compete with each other on the Snare Skip, one of 30 games offered at the Day as a Knight fun fair. Courtesy of B-L Pellicore/Prospect Band Boosters

Grayson Parmenter, 3, of Mount Prospect proudly leads the band in a marching experience with PMK band members at the fun fair. Courtesy of B-L Pellicore/Prospect Band Boosters

Landon Salgado, 5, of Palatine takes a swing at the Home Run Derby game. Courtesy of B-L Pellicore/Prospect Band Boosters

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