Sixteen high school marching bands from across Missouri –including one from Jefferson City –competed Saturday in Lafayette’s 25^th Annual Contest of Champions. Although the event started an hour later than usual due to wet field conditions, everything went off without a hitch.

From 8:30 a.m. to nearly midnight, students and parents from the Lancer Regiment worked at the competition, doing all sorts of jobs to accommodate the bands, from serving BBQ to handing out water. People were constantly moving around all over the campus, doing everything they could to make this competition run as smoothly as possible.

Contest of Champions isn’t just a competition for high school bands; it’s also a fundraiser for the Lafayette Band Boosters and the overall band program. Portions of the funds will help contribute to the Lancer Regiment’s trip to Florida in December, where the band will perform at the Gator Bowl.

The parking lot was bursting with cars and buses as hundreds of band students prepared to take the football field in their performance. Spectators on the bleachers watched with interest as the bands performed their shows.

Parkway South’s show contained music from Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, while Francis Howell North had a giant tarp of a compass on the field, fitting in with their show’s theme of a long journey.

Eureka High School took the audience to the Middle East with their show, entitled “Arabian Nights.” The very large color guard looked like graceful genies as they spun their flags, rifles and sabres.

Francis Howell Central performed music by Pink Floyd’s album “The Wall,” complete with giant, fake brick walls that turned around to reveal the entire band standing behind them.

Camdenton presented a dark, somber show, featuring members of the band and the hawk-like guard standing on ladders.

Ft. Zumwalt North had the more unorthodox of the performances; each band member wore converse, and instead of normal uniforms, wore different outfits of black as they performed music from the group Evanescence.

Jefferson City wowed the crowd as they covered the music from Avatar. The guard was particularly noticeable – their costumes were exactly like the natives from the movie. Near the end, a guard member “speared” the conductor, and then proceeded to step up on a platform to continue conducting the band, drawing cheers and applause from the crowd.

Ten bands advanced to the finals after their preliminary performances. At the end of the evening, Ft. Zumwalt North took home first place.

“I thought it was a gorgeous day,” said Brad Balog, Lancer Regiment Director. “The band parents and students worked really hard… Contest of Champions has a reputation for being a great, accommodating marching band festival.”

The Lancer Regiment will compete on Saturday Oct. 6 at Ft. Zumwalt North.