VERO BEACH — A highly anticipated festival where bands battle for trophies is being held at a local high school.
The 36th Annual Crown Jewel Marching Band Festival takes place from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday at the Citrus Bowl Stadium at Vero Beach High School. Bands will compete in three to four divisions and a grand champion will be named for each division, School District spokeswoman Cristen McMillan said.
Fifteen schools are scheduled to perform at the festival, including special exhibition performances from the University of South Florida Herd of Thunder Marching Band and Vero Beach High School Fighting Indians Band.
Twelve schools will compete against each other. The exhibition performances will not be judged and Sebastian River High School Marching Sharks are participating only for an evaluation, McMillan said.
Awards will be given out to bands at 2:30 p.m. and 10 p.m., according to the Crown Jewel site.
The Crown Jewel Festival, hosted by Vero Beach High School, is one of the oldest continuous marching festivals in Florida. The high school stadium is located at 1707 16th Street.
Tickets for adults are $14, for youth $6 (ages 6 through 18), and children under 5 years old have free admission. For more information on the festival, visit the Crown Jewel Festival site.
