This past weekend the Chargers Marching band performed at the Collegiate Marching Band Festival in Allentown, Penn. for the first time in program history.

“The Collegiate Marching Band Festival is a huge show where a ton of college marching bands from all over come to perform for an enormous crowd of around 12,000 people,” said logistics team member, Samantha Cosnoski.

The festival has been happening annually for the past 20 years on an invite-only basis for performers. This is the first year the Chargers Marching Band has been invited to attend. Cosnoski described the crowded as “the largest audience ever for most of the band members,” and stressed the importance of how large the festival was.

This was a huge step for the band as it grows in its members and national prominence.

The festival brought the band on a two-day overnight trip as they pulled away from campus Saturday afternoon and did not return until well into Sunday evening. This is the first time in three years the band has done an overnight trip to attend a performance.

The planning for the trip was largely done by the logistics team, a group of students who volunteer to coordinate trips and assist the staff and leadership. The logistics team is primarily responsible for the student end of logistics, making sure the band is as close to schedule as possible and that everything is running smoothly. Specific responsibilities include coordinating the buses, organizing the equipment trucks, confirming the food and coordinating sleeping arrangements.

The two-day trip allowed the band to not only perform at the festival, but also to perform an exhibition at a Downingtown High School marching band competition. The band was also housed in the high school’s gymnasium, sleeping there Saturday night before driving to Allentown early Sunday morning.

The festival provided every member of the over 250 strong band a unique opportunity to showcase their talents in front of a crowd they’ve never before experienced.

“It was exhilarating,” said band member, Bailey Lanzilotta. “Performing in from of so many people brought out so much of the band’s energy. It was definitely our best performance of my college career and I think we turned some heads. It’s probably my most proud moment of being in this band.”

Band member Kiersten St. John expressed her thoughts on the band’s performance as well.

“Allentown was a step out of the bands comfort zone and it showed within the performance,” said St. John. “That being said I think that it was a great experience for the band and we can only get better from here.”

There is no way to know if the band will continue to attend the festival in the upcoming years, as an invitation is required to perform.

“I’m sure that if the band is invited to perform then we will do whatever we can to make the trip again,” said Cosnoski.