No drum corps show in DeKalb this year
DeKALB - The martial sounds of drum and brass that for nearly all of the last 27 summers could be heard wafting across DeKalb will be a lot rarer this year.
Milwaukee-based Drum Corps Midwest, which has been holding drum corps competitions in DeKalb since the late 1970s, suspended its operations in November.
Other than practice sessions by at least one drum and bugle corps at Northern Illinois University’s Huskie Stadium, that means people will have to go elsewhere to hear the precision marching groups.
“The organization has kind of gone dormant,” said DCM Executive Director Roman Blenski. “The membership has kind of splintered up a little bit.”
Blenski said the Division I, or larger drum corps, split from the organization two years ago, and without their participation it was difficult to make the competition work financially. The competitions had been held at Northern Illinois University’s Huskie Stadium.
“DCM can’t afford to do the shows anymore,” said Mike Embrey of FunME events in DeKalb. Embrey had worked with DCM to promote the competitions and acted as a local liaison for the group.
Drum Corps International, which, like DCM, hosts shows and competitions for member corps, had in two recent years collaborated with DCM on the DeKalb shows, but Chris Weber, DCI promotions manager, said the group has no current plans to host a show in DeKalb.
The competitions typically drew dozens of drum and bugle corps, mainly from the Midwest. Many of the corps would camp and practice on the lawns at DeKalb public schools.
DeKalb Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Chuck Siebrasse said he remembers hearing them practice when he lived on Fairview Drive.
“It’s a loss to the community,” he said.
Embrey said an analysis of the impact of the three-day Drum Corps Midwest Championships in 2003 showed the competition generated about $250,000 of economic activity and brought more than 5,000 people to town.
He said that he’s hoping to lure a competition by DCI to DeKalb in 2007, but that it might take a coordinated effort by the city, chamber and other entities to do that. Other communities have started to offer the drum corps organizations things like breaks on stadium rental and housing, he said.
What’s wrong with you people?!!
Get DCI back into the place it should be.
Pull the city together…jeez
Brad Gatons — 6/1/2006 @ 3:50 am