The American Cancer Society's Relay for Life begins at 6 PM on Friday July 20 and runs until Noon on Saturday July 21. This year the event returns to Holy Trinity Church, 13715 SW Walker Rd, Beaverton. Map and Directions. Teams of people will walk around the track behind the church and school for 18 hours raising funds for cancer research. This is a pro bono event for TBGO. Meet:  At 5:30 PM at the track behind Holy Trinity Church and School. Parking:  Recommended parking is on the NORTH side of the lot as shown in the satellite view at right. (The not-so-good parking area looks attractive because you can see the track from there, but if you park there you'll have to walk aaaaaaaallllllllllllllll the way around the buildings because there's no way to enter the field from there.) Park and follow the yellow arrow (right) to reach the track. Order of Events: Opening Ceremony begins at 6 PM with a little music to get everyone gathered, followed by opening remarks. There's a flag ceremony done by the Boy Scouts and TBGO will play The Star-Spangled Banner. The relay begins with the Survivors Lap, in which all attending cancer survivors take the first lap on the track while everyone else lines the track and cheers them on with music played by us. TBGO is their first musical act of the event; we will play until 7 PM. Uniform:  Informal Uniform: TBGO collared polo, black shorts, white socks & shoes, TBGO cap. Be sure to see "More About Shorts" on the Uniform page if this is your first "summer uniform" performance with the band. Music This is probably more music than we need, but better to be safe than sorry! The Star-Spangled Banner (NOT National Anthem March!!!) Confident Uptown Funk Five O'Clock World Shut Up and Dance Heartache Tonight Forget You I'm Shipping Up to Boston Poker Face Hey Baby! One Mint Julep Unchain My Heart Over the Rainbow Fireball Thriller Happy Long Train Runnin' Uma Thurman Bang Bang Sweet Caroline Beer Barrel Veterans Salute Runaway Baby

Well, we're gonna do it!  We are preparing to sign the contract to appear at the Oregon State Fair:  Two performances per day for all 11 days of this year's State Fair in Salem, with a third performance on weekends and on Labor Day.  It's a big commitment for the band, but the rewards are substantial.  Besides excellent exposure, this will almost double our performance income for 2018.

Dates are Friday August 24 through Monday September 3.  This includes two weekends (plus a preceding Friday), a full set of weekdays in between, and finishes up on Labor Day.  As noted earlier, most days will have two performances per day, each about 20 minutes long, currently scheduled for 6:30 and 9:30 pm.  On Saturdays, Sundays, and Labor Day (Sept 3) we will add a third performance in late afternoon (which means an earlier arrival time).  Time for that is not set, probably sometime between 3:30 and 5:00 pm.  To make it easier to talk about, let's assume for the moment that it would be at 3:30.  That means:

• Monday through Friday:  two gigs at 6:30 and 9:30 pm
• Saturday, Sunday, Labor Day:  three gigs at 3:30, 6:30, and 9:30 pm

The exact scope of our performances is still a bit up in the air, but is most likely to be a parade routed through the Fairgrounds and/or possibly through the concert arena while the crowd is waiting for a concert to start. 

Parking and fair admission are included in our contract, so your only expense is transportation and any food/drink you choose to consume at the Fair.  We will arrange carpool opportunities to help keep costs down (for example, by having people meet at the Park 'n' Ride near Bridgeport Village).

Our standard collection of parade tunes will be just fine, so no additional prep work required on our end.  Auxiliary units and support staff (for flags and banners) are both included and desirable. 

This is a major commitment for TBGO to undertake.  We don't necessarily need 60 in the block for every performance, but we DO need to be sure we have 30+ in the block plus auxiliaries, including enough of everything to make a balanced band.  Biggest worries will likely be lead trumpets, lead bones, drum line (same as always!).  There's no upper limit on how many attendees we can have each day (as far as I know), so sign up on as many days as you can.  The more, the merrier!

We accepted the gig based on your previous input, which showed that band associates would attend on enough days to make everything work. 

Now we need to nail down your COMMITMENTS so that we can ensure we have a SOLID BAND EVERY DAY.

 

Sign Up for the 2018 Oregon State Fair

Use the Survey Monkey link below to register your commitments for this gig. The survey lists all 11 days of the Fair, and you'll be asked to check off all the dates on which you COMMIT to attend. You'll find one additional question in the survey that lets you check additional dates for which you are uncertain but MAY be able to attend.

In case it helps, Steve is sending out the dates you listed previously when we were doing the interest survey to determine whether we would accept this gig. However, those dates were non-binding so you can make changes as necessary since your situation may have changed in the meantime. There are also band associates who didn't take the interest survey; we want to know about you too!

Please sign up for as many dates as you can. This is a big opportunity for us and we'd love to make a GREAT impression on those State Fair crowds!

Click here to sign up for the State Fair via Survey Monkey RESPONSES BY JULY 13 WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED

Performance Logistics

Uniform:  TBGO purple collared polo shirt, TBGO hat. We will probably go with our formal bottoms (black pants/belt, black shoes/socks) but we'll make that final call closer to departure. Note that we'll also want to be IN UNIFORM when we depart on Friday so that we'll look spiffy for the media when we do the Yakima Trolleys interview / tour.

Parade Music:

1. TBD

Trolley Trav'lin' Music:  

TBD

Meeting Time:  For those making their own travel arrangements, we will announce a meeting time and location for the Leavenworth parade when we know details.

Parade Details: Parade route shown at right (click to enlarge). Parade route is approx 1.4 miles long.

Motor Coach Pickup Locations Our motor coaches to the Autumn Leaf Festival have two pick-up points: Southwest Bible Church, 14605 SW Weir Rd, Beaverton (map and directions) Olympic Gym, 23500 SE Stark St, Gresham (map and directions) Please let us know which pick-up point you will use when you make your reservation using Survey Monkey.   The Southwest Bible Church pickup point (right) is our primary pickup point with plenty of parking available. Minimal access to the church is allowed so we will be able to use the restrooms.Arrival and departure times are shown in the Detailed Itinerary. (map and directions)

West Side Pickup Beaverton Bus Pickup at Southwest Bible Church (above)

The Olympic Gym pickup point (right) is our east side pickup point (thanks Tom McCann!). Please park in the end of the parking lot. Gym will be open and we are making arrangements to be able to use the restrooms. Arrival and departure times are shown in the Detailed Itinerary. (map and directions)

East Side Pickup East Side Bus Pickup at Olympic Gym (above)

Detailed Itinerary

Autumn Leaf Festival Trip - Detailed Itinerary

Date	Time	What
Friday Sept 28	5:15 am	West-Side band associates arrive at Southwest Bible Church
	6:00 am	Depart Southwest Bible Church.
	6:00 am	East-Side band associates arrive Olympic Gym
	6:45 am	Coaches arrive at Olympic Gym
	7:00 am	Coaches depart Olympic Gym
	8:15 am	Arrive at The Dalles for morning rest stop with coffee and donuts
	8:40 am	Depart The Dalles
	10:40 am	Arrive Toppenish for rest stop and mural tour
	11:20 am	Depart Toppenish
	11:40 am	Arrive Yakima Valley Trolleys
	1:00 pm	Depart YVT
	1:15 pm	Arrive Franklin Park (Yakima) for picnic lunch
	2:00 pm	Depart lunch stop
	3:45 pm	Arrive Leavenworth. Coaches park in main area of town near gazebo. Free time to visit the town.
	5:30 pm	Depart Leavenworth
	6:00 pm	Arrive Best Western Chieftain Inn in Wenatchee. Dinner on your own.
Saturday Sept 29	8:30 am	Depart hotel
	9:00 am	Arrive Smallwood Farms Fruit Stand & Country Mercantile in Peshastin (near Leavenworth)
	10:00 am	Continue on to parade staging area in Leavenworth
	Noon	Autumn Leaf Festival Parade begins. (TBGO step-off time TBD)
	2:15 pm	Depart Leavenworth following parade
	4:00 pm	Arrive at Miner's Burgers in Yakima for early dinner
	5:00 pm	Depart Miner's Burgers
	7:00 pm	Rest stop in The Dalles
	7:20 pm	Depart rest stop for home!
	8:45 pm	Olympic Gym drop-off
	9:30 pm	Southwest Bible Church drop-off

 

Trip Pricing

Pricing for the Autumn Leaf Festival "mini-trip" is listed below. We are offering an Early Booking Discount to help spur your decision process <grin>.

TBGO members making their own travel arrangements are responsible for transportation to/from Leavenworth, lodging, and transportation to/from the parade staging area. If you are traveling on your own, please use the sign-up link (there will be a "self-drive" option for you in the survey) so we know you're coming.

Adults family members are welcome to join the trip (sorry, no children).

In accordance with the TBGO Rooming Policy, you MUST submit a VERIFIED rooming list with the names of all roommates if you choose a Triple or Quad room. "Verified" means that you need to make sure that your proposed roommates agree with the list; you don't get to just list random people and hope for the best! Please see the TBGO Rooming Policy for details on the policy, including information about adding your name to, or seeking roommates from, the Available Roommate List.

Pricing shown is per-person for various rooming configurations. $150 non-refundable deposit is due at signup, with balance due August 17. AUTUMN LEAF FESTIVAL TRIP IS NON-REFUNDABLE.

Pricing Per Person for Autumn Leaf Festival Trip

Room Type	Travel Package
Single	$337.00
Double	$264.00
Triple*	$239.00
Quad*	$227.00
*See TBGO Rooming Policy

Autumn Leaf Festival Trip Package includes:

•  Round trip chartered motor coach with driver tip & hotel accommodations for the driver
•  1 night Best Western Chieftain Inn with tax
•  Donut/Coffee at The Dalles
•  Toppenish Mural Tour with step-on guides
•  Yakima Valley Trolley Excursion
•  Lunch in the park at Yakima
•  Breakfast at our Wenatchee hotel
•  Early dinner at Miner's Burgers in Yakima

AUTUMN LEAF FESTIVAL TRIP IS NON-REFUNDABLE. You may wish to consider purchasing Travel Insurance to protect yourself in case of accident, illness, or other factors that preclude you from completing the trip; see details below.

Payments to Reserve Your Travel Package

TO RESERVE YOUR PACKAGE:  Payment of $150 per person deposit is required at signup. You may supply credit card information as part of your signup via Survey Monkey, or provide payment or credit card information directly to Travel by Tom Higham. Balance of trip cost is due by August 17, 2018.

Signups after July 28, 2018 will be accepted based on availability and pricing cannot be guaranteed.

Early Booking Discount

The TBGO Board is pleased to announce an Early Booking Discount of $20 for all TBGO band associates who are part of the TBGO performance team, including musicians, auxiliary unit members, banner carriers, flag carriers, hydration (water) team, and other regular support staff. You must sign up for the trip by July 18, 2018 to receive the Early Booking Discount. Early Booking Discount is not available for family members who do not perform with the band or band associates who have not performed with the band by July 5, 2018. The Early Booking Discount lowers the prices in the Trip Pricing section above by $20 and will be applied at the time of final payment for your trip.

Travel Insurance

TBGO travel packages (like most travel packages everywhere) are non-refundable. To protect yourself in case of problems that prevent or interrupt your travel, you may wish to consider purchasing travel insurance. TBGO travelers may optionally elect to purchase the Worldwide Trip Protector policy from Travel Insured International when signing up for this trip.

Trip cancellations can happen at any age, though the likelihood of health problems increases as we age. Travel insurance also protects you should you need to change travel plans because a family member develops health issues. Your policy protects you against such things as Trip Cancellation, Trip Interruption, Missed Connection, Itinerary Change, Travel Delay, Accident & Sickness Medical Expense, Emergency Medical Evacuation/Repatriation (Air Ambulance), Travel Accident Protection, Baggage & Personal Effects and Delayed Baggage.

The premium for travel insurance varies by cost of trip and your age. This chart can give you a rough idea of your insurance premium; Tom can give you actual pricing Find the row of the chart that shows your trip cost, then slide across to the column with your age; the figure in the intersection is your cost to insure this trip. NOTE: Insurance pricing will vary as this is not the most current insurance table.

Many people do not understand the value of travel insurance until certain things happen, such as having to cancel their trip due to illness, injury or death type reasons to themselves or other family members that would prevent them from taking a trip they have planned on going.  Or, someone may need to cancel in the middle of their trip and come home early for similar reasons. You may believe that your home owner or other insurance may protect your investment if you are forced to cancel your trip, but typically it does not.  Please note that the cancellation and trip interruption protection of the plan priced in the travel insurance chart above covers only documented illness, injury, and death.  Those who desire expanded coverage (e.g., due to work related reasons, or for any reason whatever) can be insured using another policy type through Travel Insured International at additional cost; please contact Travel by Tom Higham with your needs.

To be sure you are fully covered, especially for pre-existing reasons, you must purchase your travel insurance within 21 days of your deposit (best to do it at the same time you are making your trip deposit so that way you know you have it handled). You will be offered an opportunity to purchase travel insurance when filling out the Survey Monkey sign-up for the trip.

Travel Assistance Program

As this is a relatively low-cost trip, we do not plan to make any awards under the Travel Assistance Program for this trip. Click to learn more about the TBGO Travel Assistance Program and the criteria for awards.

Sign Up for the 2018 Autumn Leaf Festival Trip

Use the Survey Monkey link below to sign up for the trip. If you are making your own travel arrangements, please use the same link to let us know that you will be at the event so that we know who to expect at the performance events.

If you are reserving a Triple or Quad room, please be sure you have a verified rooming list BEFORE you sign up (see TBGO Rooming Policy).

Click here to sign up for the Autumn Leaf Festival via Survey Monkey SIGNUP DEADLINE IS AUGUST 17, 2018 DEADLINE FOR EARLY BOOKING DISCOUNT IS JULY 18 Signups after August 17, 2018 will be accepted based on availability and pricing cannot be guaranteed.

Major Road Trips

The Board has been talking with members informally to get travel ideas, and there's no shortage of fun things to do. After long discussion we have a plan to propose, built using these criteria:

• Take account of the "recurring themes" we hear when talking to band associates about travel opportunities.
• Target events with "cool factor". If we only get to do one a year, it oughta count!
• Emphasize trips that center around existing events with large, enthusiastic crowds. It's more fun to play for lots of people, and it's a lot easier to draw a crowd when someone else has already done all the work.
• Have a reasonable belief that it's a trip/event we can successfully execute.
• Target locations that are likely to have broad appeal to members as "destinations" - there should be fun, exciting touristy things we can do while we are in the area.
• Try to keep major events 9-15 months apart.
• Work to keep each trip affordable to the best of our ability.
• "Start spreading the news" - work on bringing the band to each major area of the country (and beyond).
• In general, avoid duplicating major trips that we've done previously - we ain't gettin' any younger and there are LOTS of places to go!
• Look beyond one year to put a multi-year plan in place. We think that a roadmap makes it easier for both the band staff and band associates to plan ahead, and it can also act as a recruiting tool.

It's time to put together the new travel plan with your input and then head off for new adventures!

Here's our current thinking on major road trips:

Date TBD: Alaska Cruise

In the aftermath of our Bahamas cruise in 2012 we get lots of other "cruise" suggestions, with Alaska being among the most popular.We would look at a departure just after Rose Festival, before the rates climb to the stratosphere. This would be an Inside Passage trip, probably departing from and returning to Seattle. Typical itineraries on these trips include port stops at Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway, plus one or more days of cruising in Glacier Bay National Park. Plus whales, mountains, lots of gorgeous … you get the idea. The major problem with an Alaska trip is that there are no good existing events to target (the largest we can find is the July Fourth Parade in Juneau) and it would be challenging to coordinate a cruise schedule with events taking place in the ports. This would have to be another "invent your own venue" kind of trip, much like the Bahamas, which takes more work and probably results in smallish crowds. Estimated logistics: 7 nights, $1200-1400 per person (which includes food and all the usual cruise ship amenities)

DATE TBD: Kentucky Derby

On the first Saturday in May, "the most exciting two minutes in sports" takes place at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Two days before the Derby the Pegasus Parade rolls 1.7 miles through the streets of Louisville with giant helium balloons of recognized characters, spectacular floats, marching bands, equestrian units, local and national celebrities (previous Grand Marshals include William Shatner, Gladys Knight, Muhammad Ali, Chubby Checker, Mickey Mouse, and Cyndi Lauper), and exciting performance groups. We would probably NOT attend the actual Derby; general admission in the infield is $75-$100 (and you can't see the race), with grandstand seating in the multiple hundreds of dollars. But other local attractions include the Great Steamboat Race, a full slate of Festival events, and tours of the Louisville Slugger Baseball Bat Factory/Museum. We'd also probably arrange a "touring" day through the Bourbon Trail, My Old Kentucky Home, and (maybe) Lincoln's Birthplace in Hodgenville. Yet another possibility would be to make the 90 minute drive to Cincinnati for a performance along the Ohio River, a Cincinnati Reds game, or a visit to Kings Island amusement park. Estimate 4 nights, $1000 per person.

Date TBD: Hawaii

Another perennial request. The most likely opportunity would be the Honolulu Festival Parade of Bands in March. The parade, which draws some 40,000 viewers, is currently considered the best parade in the state. There is a band and orchestra festival the same weekend, but that seems more geared to concert band performances. Overall, we think Hawaii is a great vacation destination but only a so-so target for a band trip. Nonetheless, we'll keep an eye out because you never know when we'll find just the right thing! Estimate 4 nights, $900-$1100 per person.

Date TBD: Cultural Tour of Cuba

We love the idea of a cultural barnstorming tour through Cuba, but it's still a little too soon for us to consider it - not enough flights, not enough rooms, too hard to execute. But we're gonna keep an eye on this one. Estimate 6 nights, $2000 per person.

Date TBD: McDonald's Thanksgiving Parade (Chicago)

We receive multiple solicitations for the McDonald's Thanksgiving Parade in Chicago each year, so our odds of getting in would probably be okay. Pluses: Major city, major parade, giant balloons, nationwide TV coverage on WGN, new area of country for us, holiday shopping along the Miracle Mile. Minuses: Chicago in November .... Estimate 3 nights at $950.

Date TBD: Village Halloween Parade (New York City)

Hundreds of giant puppets, more than 50 bands with music from around the world, thousands of New Yorkers in costumes of their own creation - sounds pretty wild, huh? And October would undoubtedly be warmer than, oh, the Macy's Parade in November. (Speaking of which: We think we would have to signficantly grow the band to even consider applying for Macy's, and we'd also have to be much "spiffier" in our uniforms and routines.) Anyway - Halloween in Greenwich Village could be fun! Estimate 3 nights at $1000-1100; would probably offer optional extensions.

Other "Big Ideas"

There are plenty of other ideas floating around, including a return to China (for example, the Luoyang Peony Festival with a side trip to see the Terracotta Warriors of X'ian), a return to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, etc. Both Bristol, Rhode Island and the Calgary Stampede have told us we'd be welcome back. The Board plans to work through some of these ideas and we also plan to survey our band associates to see what sounds popular and then put together a plan.

Regional Trips and Mini-Trips

Besides our annual "big road trip", we want to make a conscious effort to broaden our reach in regional events. This will certainly include day trips, but we'd also love to add roughly one "mini-trip" each year if the band can support it. In general, we'd try to space mini-trips so that they don't fall right on top of a major trip (i.e., we'll try to create "breathing room" between trips as much as we can.) A mini-trip would typically be closer to home, include a 1-2 night hotel stay, and cost in the range of $200-$350. Examples of mini-trips that we've done include the Wenatchee Appleblossom Festival, Pendleton Round-Up, Medford Pear Blossom Festival, White Rock (BC) Sea Festival, and Rogers Santa Claus Parade (Vancouver, BC).

New ideas that we're considering include:

• Cherry Blossom (The Dalles, OR) - day trip
• Boatnik Festival (Grants Pass, OR)
• Lilac Festival (Spokane, WA) - nation's largest Torchlight parade on Armed Forces Day
• Christmas Festival (Coeur d'Alene, ID)
• Hyack International Parade (New Westminster, BC)