Drum and Bugle Corps

(www.mcall.com)

The Cadets Drum & Bugle Corps of Allentown won first place in the DCI East Drum Corps competition Saturday at the J. Birney Crum Stadium, Allentown.

The Cadets are the top-seeded marching unit going to the DCI World Championships this weekend at Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, Mass.

After leaving Allentown on Saturday, the Cadets, a program of Youth Education in the Arts, also won first place Sunday in the Music is Cool event at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J.

The competition in Giants Stadium featured the Cadets against the six-time, current defending world champion Cavaliers from Rosemont, Ill., who are seeded No. 2 in the rankings, and the 11-time world champion Blue Devils of Concord, Calif., currently seeded No. 4. The Crossmen, another program of Youth Education in the Arts, Allentown, finished in fourth place in the last warm-up at Giants Stadium before the weeklong championships in New England.

”We still have a lot of work to do, as we will be rehearsing for 12 hours a day in Allentown before heading to the world championships,” said George Hopkins, director of the Cadets.

Other winners in the Saturday evening competition were: second place, Phantom Regiment, Rockford, Ill.; third, Madison Scouts, Madison, Wis.; fourth, Carolina Crown; fifth, Santa Clara Vanguard; sixth, Crossmen; seventh, Colts; eighth, Southwind; ninth, Seattle Cascades; 10th, The Magic; 11th, Esperanza; and 12th, Troopers.

Winners in Friday’s DCI East Drum corps competition were: first place, the Cavaliers; second, Blue Devils; third, Bluecoats; fourth, Boston Crusaders; fifth, Blue Knights; sixth, Glassmen; seventh, Spirit from JSU; eighth, Capital Regiment; ninth, Mandarins; 10th, Pacific Crest; 11th, Pioneer; and 12th, Kiwanis Kavaliers.

Winners in the event at Giants stadium were: first, the Cadets; second, the Cavaliers; third, Blue Devils; fourth, Crossmen; fifth, Colts; sixth, Capital Regiment; seventh, Pacific Crest; eighth, Mandarins; and ninth, Pioneer.

Tickets are available for the Division I World Championships, Thursday through Saturday in Gillette Stadium.

The DCI ticket booth will open at 10 a.m. Thursday near the West Gate. DCI will accept major credit cards as well as cash for all ticket purchases. Look for signs indicating DCI Tickets.

All 24 Division I corps will be competing in quarterfinals competition. The top 17 corps will perform in semifinals, and the top 12 will appear in finals.

Parking at Gillette Stadium is $25 a car and $50 for RVs and buses. There is no overnight RV parking at the stadium.

The city of Foxboro charges a $2 per seat fee in addition to the handling fee that Drum Corps International charges. All orders for tickets at Gillette Stadium will have this fee added before checkout.