From the News Journal;

“They’re Grand Champions again!”

“Proving that last year was no fluke, The Port Orange Music Academy, formerly known as Spruce Creek Elementary Band, were named Grand Champions of the OrlandoFest Music Festival for the second consecutive year. The Academy entered its Advanced and Jazz bands, under the direction of Ed Clowers and his son Brent. Each band played three songs. Both bands received superior and gold rankings for their performances. In capturing the Grand Champions award, Port Orange Music Academy, which is made up of 3rd through 5th grade musicians, topped two high school bands…”

POMA COMPETITION UPDATES (As of 5/28/12)

The performance times for the bands have changed to earlier times. The Concert Band is now performing at 8:35 am and the Jazz Band is now performing at 9:55. This means that we have to leave for Orlando earlier in the morning than previously thought! We are now asking kids to arrive at the church by 5:30 am. The bus will leave promptly at 6:00 am. All kids must ride the bus. No kids are allowed on the bus if they have not yet turned in their signed permission slips. If you need another form or if you are not sure that your child’s form got turned in, please contact Dawn Alves at dmalves2000@yahoo.com.

Kids must wear their POMA band shirt and full-length khaki pants. Kids are also asked to wear black, closed-toe shoes. No sandals or flip-flops. Our additional order of POMA shirts has arrived. Shirts are $14 each. Please contact Mr. Clowers for shirt sizes and availability. Parents and chaperones can also purchase POMA t-shirts for $10, if they would like to help show support. They are not required, however.

We do have final confirmation that the awards ceremony will be held at the performance site, which is the Olympia High School in Orlando. The address is 4301 S Apopka Vineland Rd, 32835. Directions to the school, as well as from the school to Universal, will be available at the concert on Thursday, 5/31. The performance and the awards ceremony are free for family and friends to watch, so we encourage you to come and support the band. There will be a 30 minute clinic for each band as part of the awards ceremony.

We have just learned that there will be vendors at the High School, so lunch can be purchased there, for much less than it would cost at Universal. A hamburger, for example, is $2.50 and a cheese pizza is $2.00. Additional details will be sent out very soon, so please keep checking your emails.

We will leave Olympia High School around noon. This means getting to Universal at approximately 12:30. We will have about 6 hours to enjoy the parks. If you ordered a $99 Universal ticket thru us from OrlandoFest, you can pick it up at the High School upon completion of the ceremonies. If you are taking your child with you from the competition site, you must sign them out before doing so.

We ask that you please send money with your child for lunch, dinner, snacks, drinks, and souvenirs.
The bus will be locked during the day. Please discuss with your child about whether to leave phones, ipods, etc. on the bus, or to bring them into the parks. Your child may also need sunscreen, a change of clothes, and a plastic bag for wet clothes, especially if they are planning on doing any water rides.

Please remind your child that they must behave in an appropriate manner while at the park and must be accountable to their chaperone’s instructions. We will ask the kids and their chaperones to meet back at the bus at 6:30 pm. The bus will leave by 7:00 and we should be back at the church by 8:30 pm. Please make arrangements in advance to pick up your child at that time.

We know this is a lot of information, but we wanted to keep you as updated as possible as we get ready for the big day onSaturday, June 2nd.

Any questions, please contact Joyce Darcy at sjdarcy@bellsouth.net or dmalves2000@yahoo.com.

Thank you!
The POMA Band Boosters