Sunday July 31

Sunway Lagoon. 

A resort area in Malaysia. A tourist destination formerly a mining town and an open mining pit. Built by the owner, a visionary for his time. Turning the mining pit into a huge recreational theme park and resport hotel. At the time, outside of the city, but now surrounded buy towers of apartment buildings. About 30 minutes from the hotel. 5 theme parks, water, amusement, extreme, and scream parks. Wonders of Africa, a surf pool, cannon slides, pedestrian walk way 428 meters long. There is a bungee jump as well. Lots of sun and fun for the kids and a chance to relax in an awesome environment. 

Finals!

Saturday. Finals day. As usual, breakfast then onto the busses for one final rehearsal. Although it started out gloomy and raining, the band pushed on to the practice field at the Victoria Institution. Final tuning, tweaking and tinkering all down to this last performance. Light but intense, the focus now, is upon the final, and perhaps BEST show of the year.

One more time, the members of the 2011 Stetson Showband gathered their collective minds and souls to perform what would be an amazing field show. Brass? Ready... Woodwinds? Tuned... Pit and Battery? Psyched... Colorguard? Primed... All in place for The Final Show.

The Stetson's would put everything they had on the field. Emotion, intensity, dynamics, tears of joy. Finishing 7th with an overall mark of 87.9.  At retreat, everyone danced and sang along with Hey Baby! as well as the monster! A mixmaster of bands and Colorgaurd, sounds and colors with flashes from many cameras going off like a huge lightening storm. All dancing to every band playing their favorite songs. 

The night ended with the time honored tradition of Age Out. A finale, for some, a graduation of sorts for others. Moving on to other priorities in their personal growth. Some, staying with the Stetson's band for another year while others move onto the Stampede Show Band or other interests. Either way, the 2011 World Championship Marching Show Bands tour will have given each member memories to reflect upon for a lifetime. We are all very proud of each and every one of you and you should be proud of yourself for the accomplishments you have achieved this year. Congratulations 2011 Stetson's.

Friday July 29th

DRUM BATTLE!
A very early start for the Drumline this morning. Competition started at 9;00 at the Pavilion shopping area. Fifteen bands participated in today's competition and after the first Battle pitting Stetsons against Royals, both bands made it into the top eight! Awesome work by both bands.  The Malaysian band and the Indonesians were also in the top eight, stiff competition.

Returning for the quarter finals, Stetson's Drumline brought their best and delivered. Despite an awesome performance and stare-down, Stetson's lost to Indonesia. But, a well fought battle and an amazing experience for them all. Next year's World's will be very, very interesting and exciting, if you have never experienced a Drum Battle, it is surely amazing to watch. Choreography, musicianship, timing, and precision are all parts of this competition.

Red Deer Royals also put on a great show which was great to see and was well supported by both Stetson members as well as Red Deer Royals and staff. Both bands, although competing against one another are cheering each other on in the spirit of the competition. Ultimately, the Drumline from Malaysia took home the hardware. Congratulations to them.

In the afternoon we returned to the hotel once again. No rehearsal but a more in depth intellectual look at the show. Andrea and staff had a chance to review the comments from the judges from our preliminary competition and are sharing them with the kids. A great way to review things and a chance for them to hear what others, specifically the judges are looking for. 

Returning to the Stadium, we watched another group of bands compete in the preliminary competition. All the bands from tonight were from Malaysia beginning with a Klang from Selangor, followed by King Edward VII School Marching Band from Perak, Lembah Bidong Marching Band from Terengganu, Saint Columba Military School Band from Sarawak, Seri Garing Marching Band from Sultan, Ibrahin Girls School Marching Band, from Johor, St. Joseph Miri Marching Band from Sarawak, SMK Jit Sin from Penang, Ave Maria Convent School Band from Perak, Victoria Institution Cadet Corps Bad from KL, Chung Hua Miri Brass Band from Sarawak, and culminating with the Sultanah Asma School Band from Kedah  All fantastic groups and great shows. Once again, a late night and off to bed. Rehearsal tomorrow for the big final show of 2011. 

Preliminaries night

Today started off great as we got up early and enjoyed the traditional breakfast mentioned in the previous post.  After the carb-loaded breakfast we headed off to rehearsal for our preliminary competition performance tonight.  We were again interrupted with some light rainfall at first, which then proceeded to become a downpour as we were loading the truck (pretty good timing, I must say). After a boxed lunch arriving back at the hotel, everyone was given a few hours of down-time to relax and rejuvenate for the big performance tonight. 

A few hours later it was game time.  Everyone in the band was very excited to show this set of judges what they were made of.  Upon arrival at the stadium, each section took off to their respective sectional warm-up. During this time, the students were able to take some time and think about the show that awaited and to prepare themselves with the proper mindset.  As the band gathered for the troop on, you could tell there was a lot of excitement in the air.  The show went great and the staff and members were very proud of what they did.  Following all of the evening's shows, the retreat began.  All of the bands played either a cadence or a parade tune onto the field as they formed their ranks.  We placed second among the evening's group of bands, scoring an 87.6, that being behind a 91.5.  

There was much excitement flowing after the groups had finished retreat, and our members began a parking lot party.  This seemed to be something that had not really been done before in this part of the world.  Stetsons really went to town playing everything from exercises and warmups to drum battle pieces that sped up with the amount of excitement that was in the air.  After all of the energy had been spent in the parking lot, we boarded the AIR CONDITIONED busses that would take us home for the night.  

Thursday July 28th

Up at the crack of 7:00, everyone wiped the sleep out of their eyes for morning rehearsal. Arriving at the rehearsal site we discovered it was a busy area today. Red Deer Royals and the local Victoria School band were also practicing. Remember how we noted earlier that we said the field was big? Well, not only did we rehearse along with the other bands, but a soccer game was happening there too!

A bit of a different warmup today with Heather leading the band in a new routine to "Lady Gaga". Kids caught on quickly but after a bit, returned to the standard "DJ  Got us fallin' in love". It became apparent that today was going to be a bit more relaxed when Andrea started the Conga line. Dancing shortly ensued and all the kids enjoyed a great "Warmup" with some inspiring "dances" from Scott W.

Back to the hotel for a quick change and then off to the Central Market for... shopping" at rehearsal, Andrea gave the kids the finer points to bartering when shopping at the open market. We walked 5 minutes to the central station to take the LRT to the market. Incredibly, it cost 1 Ringit to go to the station. Pretty cheap transportation. They had 3 hours to shop and haggle. Some went for a treatment at the Fish Spa where you put your feet into a large pond and these fish come and "clean" off your feet. Reportedly, it felt like your feet being tickled by a hundred fish.

At 7 we took off to the Stadium to watch Red Deer and cheer them on during their performance. They finished with a score of 86.3. A Gold for them, way yo go Royals!!!  Although it was late, we returned to the hotel for some sleep. To bed right away tonight as tomorrow was an early morning to watch the "Drum Battle"!!

Tuesday July 26

As the band settles into a regular routine of rehearsals every morning things seem to be easier for them. Today another chance to get caught up on some sleep and breakfast at 8:00. Although odd to us Canadians, breakfast consists of any of the following options: Noodles, Potatoes, Rice, Curried rice, Toast with jam, soup, some cereals, with juice or coffee. Everyone is finding something they like every day.

We went to the Stadium where the competitions are to be held to give us an opportunity to rehearse at the field. This also gave the band the opportunity to hear some of the other bands perform. Probably the most interesting one was the Chinese band. One of their clarinet players was as tall the clarinet! They were very good and had some great sound. 

Returning to the Hotel, everyone had some free time to shower and shop if they wanted. Some stayed in but most went out to shop or see the sights. Some came back with bags of goodies. Tonight was the night for the formal dinner. The entire band, staff and chaperones were invited to the event, along with Red Deer Royals, China, Chien Kuo (Thailand) and the Czech Band. Held at a massive outdoor facility Restoran Nelayan Titiwangsa in a large central park, the food and festivities were amazing. There were shows by the Czech band, their Guard and the Stetson Ensemble. All shows were great but the favorite seemed to be Stetson Band. 

The highlight of the night was the announcement of the Freestyle Street Parade Competition! The champions were the Calgary Stetson Showband! Everyone was super excited and extremely happy about the win. The night moved on with some celebrations including an impromptu conga line. Returning home tired but excited, each member felt a huge sense of pride inside glowing in their hearts. The show big competition preliminaries begins tomorrow. 

Monday July 25 morning Rehearsal and opening Ceremony Parade

A rare chance to "sleep in" this morning. Although the kids were told they had until 7:00, those who chose to, could go and have breakfast at 6:30. There were a few early risers but the majority chose to sleep in and take advantage of the rest. Most if not all have "acclimatized" to the time change, but the heat will take a bit longer. Water is definitely the drink of choice.

The band rehearsed once again at the Victoria School. This time though, they had an audience as school was in session. There were many inquisitive eyes upon the band and as they passed by, were greeted politely with a "Hi" each and every time. As this is a very large field, Red Deer Royals also rehearsed in the same field.

Tonight, the Opening Ceremonies and Parade. A spectacular event to be seen for sure. A short parade with a standstill in front of Dignitaries followed by a short exit parade. The band played three traditional marching songs for the dignitaries and then exited the area to the thunderous applause of a crowd of about 2000 people lining the street and parade area. After returning to the form up area, the band played and marched on the sidewalk back to our form up area to the honking and whistling of passersby. Arriving at the form up area playing their classic "Hey Baby" tune they danced and sang with Red Deer in the mix. Great camaraderie. It was a llong day and the kids will have deserved a good night's sleep.

Sunday July 24, Rehearsals

Sunday 24 July
After breakfast we travelled by bus to our practice field. It is behind the Victoria school and is a large field with a cricket pitch on it as well. The weather today was overcast and HOT! everyone commented that the humidity was high and everyone was sweating like mad. All the members worked hard despite the intense heat of the morning and were rewarded with several water breaks to keep them hydrated.  After a 4 hour rehearsal, we enjoyed a nice boxed lunch of chicken wrap, Danish, and a local fruit called Rambutan. A fantastically delicious fruit with a wild looking exterior skin. Kind of like a porcupine but peel like an orange. 

We returned to the hotel for a shower then SHOPPING! We rode the Monorail to and from the Mall. It was very crowded and of course, hot. Wow the shopping at the Pavilion Mall was incredible. A very large mall with 6 levels of shopping and eating. Everything from Coach, Versace, Gucci, Tag and many many more types of stores. Some went away with bags of stuff while others just window shopped. If you are looking for a case for your phone or any other electronic device, an underground market in KL is the place to go. There are hundreds upon hundreds of colours and designs to choose from and if you're good at bartering, you could walk away with a pretty good deal! Returning to the Hotel for dinner and an easy night. A good chance to catch up on some well deserved sleep. We will get some pictures up soon. Be patient with us. :-)

First morning in KL

Good morning Stetsons!!!

We all arrived safely in KL last night. the bus ride to our hotel was quick and scenic. The amount of Palm trees seemed to surprise many members as there are rows upon rows of trees. Palm oil is the number one export from Malaysia.

After arriving at the Hotel Sentral rooms were assigned to the members. It was too early to head to bed so groups were assigned and went out for a quick tour og the local area. KL is very busy at night and there were many street vendors with their wares as well as many shops filled with flowers, fabrics of silk, etc, but a popular stop was... 7-11. Some snacks, comfort food were a nice treat. At 9:00 we returned to the hotel where a very tired band and staff collapsed into bed. Today we have rehearsal for a few hours before the heat of the mid day gets too much. Enjoy.

Up in the air!

After the long wait in Vancouver, everyone is in the air over the Pacific.  Considering how long the flights from Vancouver to Taipei and Hong Kong are, everyone seems to be having a good time.  The entertainment system on Cathay Pacific is fantastic as there are hundreds of TV shows, movies, and music albums to help the time pass.  Ive watched about three movies and played numerous word searches and sudoku puzzles on my ipad. Only about 3.5 hours left until this specific flight lands in Hong Kong, and at that point we begin another (shorter) wait before we board for the last leg of the journey to Kuala Lumpur.  GF

Calgary to Vancouver

0100 hrs Calgary time

We await the arrival of the last flight from Calgary as there was a slight delay. The Vancouver airport is quite desolate at this time and most fast food places are closing or closed. Some members will be quite hungry. Hopefully there will be some food served as soon as we board the flights to Tai Pei and Hong Kong. Subway is doing big business.


All pieces of luggage checked went through smoothly including the "Wooden and Metal Props".