$10 Adults
$5 Seniors and children 12 or younger
Free for children under 5

We welcome high school bands to participate in the 26th annual Heart of America Marching Festival sponsored by the University of Kansas Bands and the Northeast District of the Kansas Music Educators Association. The contest date is Saturday, October 21, 2017 and the deadline for entries is Friday, September 22, 2017.

The staff and students at the University of Kansas are committed to making this the most accessible, organized, and enjoyable festival for your group, as well as a useful and rewarding educational experience. We will utilize some of the best adjudicators available from across the nation, giving your group superb feedback and insight into your performance.

For 2017, the Heart of America Festival will once again utilize a single performance format (no finals). However, we will implement a number of changes based on feedback from participating directors in an effort to create greater consistency with other festivals in the region.

New Classifications and Scheduling
In 2017 the identifier will be changed from “division” to “class.” Bands will be assigned based on total number of winds in the band.

Class 1: 60 winds or fewer
Class 2: 61-90 winds
Class 3: 91-105 winds
Class 4: 106+ winds

Bands may choose to compete in a higher class if desired. We will also consider performance order within divisions based on last year’s results. The specific performance times will be announced after the registration deadline. While we can attempt to honor special scheduling requests due to school activities, we cannot guarantee that they can be accommodated.

Due to the weather forecast (rain and thunderstorms) we have decided to cancel the HOA Marching Festival scheduled for this Saturday, October 21. It was a difficult and painful decision, and a lot of factors went into the decision, not the least of which involved student and spectator safety. We wanted to get the word out early enough as it impacts the travel of many bands and our adjudicators.

Paul Brizzi - Retired, Iowa public schools: Music General Effect
Chad Simons - University of New Mexico: Music General Effect
Sarah Labovitz - University of Central Arkansas: Music Ensemble Performance
Ken Martinson - Central States Judges Association: Visual General Effect
Greg Mills - Central State Judges Association: Visual Ensemble Performance
Katie Buelow - Central State Judges Association: Auxiliary
Brian Zator – Texas A&M University - Commerce: Percussion

New Scoring System
A panel of seven judges will evaluate each band. Directors will have the option of receiving a rating/ranking or comments only. All bands will receive adjudication sheets and recorded comments from the adjudicators.

Music General Effect (2 judges) - 40%
Visual General Effect (1 judge) - 20%
Music Performance Ensemble (1 judge) - 20%
Visual Performance Ensemble (1 judge) - 20%
Auxiliary/Colorguard (one judge for caption award only – not used in the overall score)
Percussion (one judge for caption award only – not used in the overall score)