| Event Logo |  |
|---|---|
| Drums at Appletime 2026 | |
| Murphysboro | |
| Location - State | Illinois |
| 09/12/2026 | |
| $10.00 for Adults. $5.00 Student Admission (Grades 6-12). Children 5 and Under are Free. | $10.00 for Adults. |
On behalf of the Murphysboro Apple Festival Committee, you are cordially invited to participate in the Apple Festival Grand Parade competition and Drums at Appletime Field Show competition on Saturday, September 12th, 2026. As has become the tradition, the parade competition will be open to junior high school, middle school, and high school bands. Drums at Appletime is for high school bands only. No one can resist the lure of a marching band and Drums at Appletime continues as one of Murphysboro Apple Festival's most popular events, drawing sell-out crowds year after year. From it's inception, featuring nationally touring Drum Corps like the Black Knights Drum & Bugle Corps, to today, showcasing the region's most talented high school marching bands, the level of competition has not changed! The Grand Parade is just a taste of the level of performance and musicianship these students possess - Drums at Appletime is where they really shine! Murphysboro's own Crimson Express began hosting in 1990 and have gone on to compete and win many major competitions throughout the United States and Canada. They continue to welcome marching bands from the area and beyond to this annual event and feature the talents of their members in exhibition at the end of the night. Concessions will be available around the east bleachers. We will take cashless payments! The Murphysboro Apple Festival has always sought to provide an event that is responsive to the educational needs of bands that participate. We strive to employ the highest quality adjudicators to evaluate your performances, and we will be using Competition Suite for comments and scores. | |
| Participating Bands/Schedule | Participating Bands/Schedule |
Adjudicator Panel | |
| Contact Name: Nicholas Williams | |
| facebook.com | |
| Email hidden; Javascript is required. | |
About Midwest Marching
Midwest Marching is your resource for marching band information in the central Midwest.
Based in Kansas City MO, Midwest Marching is operated by Belinda Johnson and Joe Bonello who are both respected and trusted members of the marching and winter guard communities for several years.
Marching event information is provided by the hosting director or organization of the event. Event directors/organizations can go to midwestmarching.com to find out how you can submit your event on our webpage.
Midwest Marching has no affiliation with any state high school activities association or any school music organizations.
Midwest Marching is not a governing or sanctioning body for marching band events or judging. All marching events are operated by the hosting director or hosting organization. Please contact your school’s band director with any concerns about a marching event.
Follow Us on Social Media
Please note the majority of info will be on our Facebook page as that is for us the easiest outlet to get info out quickly.
Our social media handles are @midwestmarching
Facebook: Schedule announcements, schedule updates, general info, results announcements, photos, weather delay updates, etc.
Instagram: Schedule announcements, photos
X: Schedule announcements, results announcements
Threads: Schedule announcements, results announcements
Fall 2026 Scheduling is Underway!
Directors may now choose to manage your page directly (although you can ALWAYS just email admin@midwestmarching.com just as you always have).
- The main MidwestMarching.com page is designed to provide a comprehensive look at every marching event that has been submitted. It it listed by ascending event date order but can be re-sorted by clicking on the column headers by Event Name, Location-City, or Location-State. Clicking on the Event Name or View Details will yield a standard text content page of the currently known event info.
- Upload Results – Your results can be available faster than ever before!. We encourage event directors/sponsors to log in to your event page at the end of your contest and upload your results in any of several formats – Recap or results pdf file, taking a picture of the recaps/results with your phone and uploading the image. Some have uploaded the announcer script that was read at the awards ceremony with all the results.
How to submit your event:
Already have a Midwest Marching login?
- Click here on Submit Event or click Submit Event along to top of the webpage.
If you do not have a Midwest Marching login:
- Please send an email to admin@midwestmarching.com and we will respond with your user ID and a temporary password usually within 24-48 hours with instructions on how to submit your event.
How to edit your event:
You’ll see an edit link next to your event when you are logged in. You can then update event information such as:
- Admission and concession prices, address and parking information for event.
- Description of event (general info, registration info, link to registration, prelims/finals event, method of scoring, etc.)
- List of participating bands, schedule.
- Adjudicator names and bios.
- Recaps/results/scores/caption winners.
- Upload Attachments such as director packet info, bus and truck parking/unloading/prop storage/warmup/event flow maps, schedules, etc.
- Your contact info
- Upload event logo if you have one. (example your school logo, band logo, event logo)
Please remember to add/update info as your event gets closer (especially schedules and results!)
If you post about your marching event on your event or band social media, use hashtag #midwestmarching or tag us and we may share your post!
If you have questions or need assistance in adding or updating your event, send an email to admin@midwestmarching.com attention to Joe Bonello and you will get a response within 48 hours.
We welcome additional “wish list” suggestions as you think of them. Just drop an email to admin@midwestmarching.com
Midwest Marching Webpage Sponsorship:
PROVIDERS OF SERVICES/SPONSORING BUSINESSES: this is a great time to join the Midwest Marching Community as a sponsor! Send an email to admin@midwestmarching.com attention to Belinda Johnson for a specialized quote for YOUR business based on your particular needs and budget.
Marching Band Fans:
We try to provide as much info as we can but we rely on the hosting festival directors/organizations to update their pages with official info, schedules and results.
Fans can help us the day of a festival by sending us photos, schedule updates, scores, etc. via Midwest Marching Facebook messenger. We review what we receive and may post your info on our social media.
If you make a public post on your own social media use hashtag #midwestmarching and we may share your post.
Good luck to all and have a great season!!!!!
