Information and Guidelines - General Information
General Information
Awards | Once you're registered what's next? | Account and Finance Guidelines | Parade Guidelines
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Awards |
The awards presented by MUSIC IN THE PARKS provide an incentive for students in the various performing organizations to strive for musical excellence in their performances. As a reward for these efforts and accomplishments, MUSIC IN THE PARKS presents distinctive and impressive trophies at the Awards Ceremony.
Participating groups have the option of Competition or Rating Only. In either case, the adjudication is the same, with the ensemble receiving taped and written comments from the judges. If the group elects to compete, they will be ranked highest to lowest by their numerical score.
COMPETITION STATUS AND AWARDS:
RATING ONLY: Each organization for Rating Only will receive a trophy with the appropriate rating of superior, excellent, good, fair or poor.
COMPETITION: Each organization for Competition will receive a trophy with the appropriate rating of superior, excellent, good, fair or poor and, in addition, will be ranked within their classification.
Overall trophies will be presented to the highest scoring ensemble for Concert Band, Jazz Ensemble, Orchestra (full/string), Choir and Parade Band in the High School division and the Middle School/Jr. High and the Elementary division. There must be at least two or more competing organizations within each division for these trophies to be awarded. Groups for Rating Only are not eligible for Overall trophies, but are eligible for individual awards.
ESPIRT de CORPS: Presented to students from a school who demonstrated proper social behavior as well as musical behavior/encouragement. They possess the qualities of highly successful people who are sensitive to the feelings of others and applaud accomplishments no matter if by one's own school or another school. Evaluation has taken place from arrival at the festival site to the awards presentation. All schools are eligible for this award, but only one group will have the honor of taking this trophy with them back to their school.
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Once you're registered what's next? |
First, if you haven’t already done so, get administration approval.
Get commitment from your students and chaperones
Getting students and parents to commit to a trip is a challenge, so it is important to give them some details now – so they can plan ahead.
Send a notice home to parents telling them that you will be attending a festival and how much it will cost their child to participate – even if the trip is still 6 months away. By giving your students and parents plenty of advance notice, you can cut down on rehearsal time lost to tracking down late payments and the like.
It can be helpful to require a small deposit early. Students and parents are less likely to back out of a trip if they have made a financial commitment to it.
Plan your fundraising – with our payment schedule in mind.
We must receive full payment 30 days before your festival. If we do not receive payment by that deadline, your group will be dropped from the event.
Many schools have very strict fundraising schedules, with a small window of approved fundraising time. The earlier you plan, the better your chance for success.
We recognize that small fluctuations in your student & adult counts will continue after the final payment deadline, and for that reason we accept payments of less than $500 at the festival registration desk to accommodate these last minute changes.
Set a payment schedule for your students
We require each group be paid in full 30 days before the event. Purchase Orders are not an acceptable form of payment because we require payment in full before the event, and typically Purchase Orders are not paid until the service has been rendered.
If you make all payments through a school account, it is vital that you get your payment requested early enough that it arrives at our office on time. An account is not considered paid until the check or credit card authorization arrives in our office, so faxed copies of Purchase Requisitions or Check Requests are not enough to hold your space.
Making payments through a booster organization does not typically require as much lead time on your end. Just be sure to have your invoice ready for the booster meeting before the payment is due.
Notes on Credit Card payments… If you are planning on using a Debit Card to make payments be sure to check your daily and weekly limits with your bank. Very often there is a $1000 maximum per day. In addition, be certain your debit card is authorized to charge for “Entertainment Industry” vendors. If you have a block on this type of vendor, the bank will decline your charge.
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Account and Finance Guidelines |
Package Plans
All groups registered to attend a Music In The Parks festival must select from one of the following package plans:
-Festival Adjudication, One Day Admission to Park
-Festival Adjudication, One Day Admission to Park, Meal in Park
Complimentary Packages
Free Director Package: Directors will receive complimentary Park admission (and meal when applicable) based on the following policy. Free Director Packages are awarded based on participating ensembles: One for Concert Band/Jazz Ensemble, One for Orchestra and One for Choir.
Free Chaperone Package: One Free Chaperone is awarded for every 25 performing students purchasing park tickets from Music In The Parks. Non-performing students and students utilizing season passes are not counted in this total.
Payment Schedule
If you are utilizing an outside travel planner, please refer to their information for payment guidelines.
Payments are divided into 2 installments, with one half of your total payment due 90 days before the festival. The balance of your account is due 30 days before the festival. Invoices will be mailed to you approximately 1 month before the payment is due.
Click Here For Payment Due Dates
Any account that has not made any payment by the final payment deadline will be canceled, and their groups will be removed from the performance schedule. Once a group has been removed due to lack of payment, their account cannot be reinstated.
Payment methods
Music In The Parks will accept the following forms of payment:
- Check
- Money Order
- Visa
- MasterCard
- American Express
- Discover
We DO NOT consider Purchase Orders a form of payment.
All payments must be in US Currency.
Returned Checks
There is a $20.00 penalty for all returned checks.
If a personal check issued by a parent affiliated with your organization is returned for any reason, your group will be held responsible for the $20.00 fee.
Cancellation Policy
If you are utilizing an outside travel planner, please refer to their information for cancellation guidelines.
In the event it is necessary for a school to withdraw from a Music In The Parks festival a full refund will be issued if cancellation notice is received 30 days before the scheduled festival date. Cancellation must be submitted via our website.
Any group that cancels less than 30 days before the festival, but more than 15 days before will be charged a $100 cancellation penalty. All other payments will be returned to you.
Any group that cancels less than 15 days before the event will forfeit all payments made to Music In The Parks.
If web cancellation is not received according to these deadlines, all applicable cancellation penalties will apply.
Reminder
If no payments have been received by the 30-Day final payment deadline, your group will be dropped from the festival.
Once a group has been dropped due to lack of payment, they cannot be reinstated even if the payment arrives after the cancellation has taken effect.
Please note:
This policy remains in effect regardless of sudden School Board policy changes or world events. Such circumstances do not negate this policy.
Number Changes / Final Count Guarantee
Approximately 15 days prior to your festival, the MUSIC IN THE PARKS office will contact the “send invoice to” contact via facsimile to guarantee your final student and adult counts. You must respond to this inquiry within five days. Your final charges will be based on the numbers you guarantee at this time. You are responsible to guarantee your ticket totals regardless of receipt of this fax. If you do not receive this fax, please call our office immediately to guarantee your final numbers with a MUSIC IN THE PARKS representative. If you do not guarantee your totals, you will be charged for the count in our files at this deadline. You can also guarantee your final counts via the Music in the Parks web-site. Student and adult counts cannot be lowered less than 10 days before your festival.
Unused park tickets cannot be returned to our office for a refund.
Refunds
Refunds for any overpayments will be issued within 30 days following your festival date.
Refunds CANNOT be issued prior to the festival.
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Parade Guidelines |
Parade is available at two day programs and one day Saturday programs.
Bands will be classified according to the number of musicians, including percussion. The number of band front/color guard members is not included in this total.
Middle School........................Grades 6-8
Junior High School...............Grades 7-9
Class I High School.............Grades 9-12, ensemble has 49 or less musicians
Class II High School............Grades 9-12, ensemble has 50 or more musicians
It is the position of MUSIC IN THE PARKS that music is the most important aspect of the performance, with marching as the presentation and visual enhancement of the program. Consequently, the weight of the number in the MUSIC IN THE PARKS scoring system places 40% value on music, 25% on marching and 35% on general effect.
Parades will be staged where bands can be adjudicated in a 100 yard marching area. Parades DO NOT take place in the park. Most parade performances are a “pass and review” in the parking lot or around a track.
In most cases it is impossible to parade through the park because of marching space and lack of adjudicating area.
Performance Rules
Bands will approach the Judging Area and will be met by a Festival Official. The Festival Official will notify the Drum Major when to proceed through the Judging Area. Once the unit is given the signal to proceed, the playing members must employ a continuous forward motion through the Judging Area. Judging will cease when the last member of the unit crosses the Finish Line of the Judging Area.
Units are urged to carry an identifiable lead banner with the school name.
If a fall should occur, the member should return to an upright position and resume marching without penalty. Dropped equipment will not be penalized but may impact the General Effect of the performance.
** Directors do not need to provide adjudicator's packets or digital media for the parade.
Changing Facilities
Changing facilities are not available at performance sites. We recommend that you designate buses for male and female changing of uniforms or have students wear casual clothes under their uniform.
On Adjudication Day
Plan to arrive at the adjudication site 30 minutes before your scheduled warm-up.
When you arrive at the adjudication site, go directly to the Registration Area (Leave your students on the bus preparing for performance).
At the Registration Area you will…
Remit payment for any last minute balance due on your Music In The Parks account (balance due cannot exceed $500 at festival)
Pick up your Amusement Park tickets & Music In The Parks student/director souvenir
Please note, not all schools will have extra space available to hold students. If you are not planning on watching other ensembles, plan to wait on your buses (Fridays) or outside (Saturdays) until your scheduled warm-up.
After your Adjudication
Score Sheets and Recaps will be distributed at the Awards Ceremony.
If you are not planning on attending the Awards Ceremony you must make prior arrangements with your festival host to pick up your trophies. Groups that have not made prior arrangements, or do not have a representative present at the Awards Ceremony will not receive their trophy.