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This year, the freshman band added a carnival to its winter concert. The evening began with a band-themed carnival followed by an hour long concert. Mr. Benson elaborates, “the carnival games [were] built, designed, created, [and] operated all by our freshman students, and the games all had a musical twist to [them]. Think skee ball, except you’re rolling the skee ball up a ramp into a tuba. Or think a xylophone made out of paint bottles and as you hit them and play them, you create a painting on a piece of paper as the paint squirts out.”

The concert included popular, kid-friendly tunes such as the theme from “The Incredibles,” Under the Sea, the James Bond theme, and The Great Locomotive Chase. Sprinkled in between the songs were entertaining skits and videos. The concert segment was freshman Rachel Anderson’s favorite part of the night because “there were some really good pieces.” However, she also enjoyed “the carnival and seeing all the little kids play the games.”

A lot of planning and preparation went into making the night a success. The event was organized by Mr. Benson and Mr. Hart. It was run primarily by freshman students with help from members of Eagan Band Boosters, who volunteered to sell concessions. Older band students volunteered as well, and the evening wouldn’t have happened without help from the custodians and the administration.

Mr. Benson says the coolest part of the concert was “not just the attendance of the carnival itself, but to see how engaged and how entertained some of the young kids were.” The band department has never done anything quite like this before and was pleasantly surprised by the enthusiasm among attendees. Considering the high level of support the carnival concert received, there is a good chance that a themed concert like this will happen again in the future.