Pennsylvania Lions All-State Band Tour Blog

Happy Fourth of July!

7/9/2018

Once again, guest blogger Andrew Smouse on the last day of our fantabulous trip to Las Vegas!

Independence Day began early for the band with another exceptional breakfast at the hotel. After getting our fill of food and coffee, we filled our hydration packs and loaded the buses for the twenty minute ride to Summerlin for the Patriotic Parade. Waiting to step off on the parade route, we were entertained by the Las Vegas Avengers who were in the parade behind us. The parade was a little more than a mile and packed with thousands of people, making the parade fun to march while playing the Pennsylvania Polka!

Loading the coaches, we set out for Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area where we toured the visitor’s center and drove along the 13-miles road through the canyon, stopping for a group photo overlooking the canyon. On the way back to the hotel, we ate lunch at the popular In-N-Out Burger fast food restaurant were we enjoyed hamburgers, fresh cut fries, and milkshakes before heading back to the hotel for some relaxation and pool time.

After freshening up, we departed for the Excalibur hotel for dinner at Buca di Beppo. Our family style meal of salad, pasta, chicken, and cheesecake concluded with a mini dance party before we transferred to the Bellagio hotel to see the conservatory. After a brief wait, we watched the world famous fountains as they performed to Pink Panther by Henry Mancini. Needless to say, this was a great way to send the night. As we arrived at the hotel, we had a few minutes to relax and begin packing our suitcases for the long day of travel back to Pennsylvania tomorrow.

What's Vegas Without Dinner And A Show?

7/4/2018

Dr. McCutcheon and I headed back to Gettysburg early Tuesday morning so that he could conduct the July 4th Orchestra here at Gettysburg College. For our final few blog posts, please welcome Guest Blogger Andrew Smouse, one of our band staff members.,

After another hot breakfast in the hotel prepared by Chef Kevin, we loaded the buses for our fourth performance at the Adventure Dome in Circus Circus. After our wonderful performance and Facebook live stream of the concert and jazz bands, we all enjoyed a private pizza party. Following the party, we enjoyed the rides and theatrics of Adventuredome. We even had a laser tag competition between the staff and students… guess who won! After the thrilling rides, we loaded the coaches for a short drive to Caesar’s Palace. In the world famous Forum Shops, we dined among memorabilia of movie stars in Planet Hollywood.

Finishing our meal with fresh chocolate chip cookies, we took a short walk to the Linq hotel. Headliner magician Mat Franco, winner of season nine’s America Got Talent, entertained us with a classic, comedic Las Vegas show. We were in awe at the illusions, card tricks, and his story. It was a great way to end the day! We then boarded the buses to head back to our hotel, taking in the lights and sights of the Las Vegas Strip. We look forward to our final performance tomorrow in the time honored Las Vegas Independence Day tradition – the 24th annual Summerlin Patriotic Parade.

And Now For Something Different...

7/4/2018

After a few days of high paced Vegas and crowded casinos, we escaped to see of the other wonders in the vicinity of Las Vegas: The Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon. At the Hoover Dam, we played a brief concert outside the visitor's center. It was well received, and there were Lions even that far outside of Las Vegas!

Following out brief concert, we were treated to a fabulous tour of the Hoover Dam. First, we viewed a video about the history of the dam, then we saw the power plant beneath the dam, and finally, we ascended to the top of the dam for pictures of the dam and Lake Meade. It was a great "Dam" tour!

After the tour, we were back on the buses and off to the Grand Canyon! This was truly amazing. Students had the chance to go out of the Sky Walk, a glass floor over the top of the canyon, allowing them to look straight down. I did not go (I was too chicken), but many of our students enjoyed the amazing view! There was also, once again, a shop or two on our way out. Then, back on the buses to Las Vegas, where we had dinner at the Rainforest Café among the jungle and its animals!

From Paris to Rome

7/4/2018

We started the day with the Plenary Session at the Lions Convention and the flag ceremony. Our band (in addition to other groups) carried flags for the flag ceremony, each representing a county that has Lions. The flag ceremony (which was quite impressive!) happens at the end of the plenary session, so I got the chance to watch the end of that session. I was particularly struck by the winners of the Peace Poster and Essay contest - ZhuoQi Wang, a 13 year old from China and winner of the Peace Poster contest, spoke at the conference - she was quite impressive. Check out her winning poster, "The Future of Peace." The session was also the "kick off" for the new Lions campaign against diabetes, and we were excited to see Sanjay Gupta speak about diabetes. We did not get to go (we were off seeing the Hoover Dam by that time!), but Monday's plenary session was to feature former president George W. Bush. Our kids, of course, did an awesome job at flag holding and parading.

After the conclusion of the flag ceremony, we had lunch once again in the food court of the MGM Grand (lots of great options there!) and then headed to Paris to visit the Eiffel Tower! Yes, you read that correctly - the Eiffel Tower - in the Paris Casino, of course. We wound our way through a quaint French village and eventually reached the Eiffel Tower, clearly the height of the day. Students enjoyed ascending the tower to, once again, gaze out over Las Vegas. We were even treated to a show by the famed Bellagio fountains while up top.

Following our trip to France, we walked across the street to pay a visit to Caesar's Palace. Here, students had a chance to shop in the Forum Shops and seemed to have a great time shopping (I have concluded that our students really like to shop!) We then had a fabulous dinner at Planet Hollywood's Café Hollywood, and then were back to the hotel for a good night's sleep.

The Lions International Convention

7/1/2018

Today was a busy and intense day of Lions activities. Our two most important performances - the Lions International Parade and the performance for the Pennsylvania delegation were both today, making it a BUSY day. The day started off with the parade. As you can imagine, it is HOT and SUNNY in Las Vegas (although with little humidity, thankfully!), so we were very concerned that students stay hydrated. To that end, the band provided students with hydration packs that they wore during the parade. There were some small kinks in the hydration pack system, resulting in a number of water covered breakfast tables as we worked to fix various leaking issues, but we got it all worked out and all stayed well hydrated!

As always, the Parade was an awesome demonstration of the breadth of the Lions organization - delegations marched in the parade from across the globe, from India, to Paraguay, to Norway. As always, the crowd was an international one as well, with peoples from many different cultures cheering us on as played the Pennsylvania Polka. The parade is also a great place for people watching, as delegations and spectators are dressed in distinctive garb to represent their clubs. We were marching behind Paraguay; the women there had very cool dresses which many people wanted pictures of. (Personally, I wanted to know where to by one!)

Following the parade, we had a chance to return to our hotel, shower, and change - a welcome chance, given that we had just spent an hour marching in the hundred degree heat! We enjoyed box lunches from the Earl of Sandwich, and had enough time that many students hit the hotel pool for a dip. After a bit of a break, we headed back out to the Stratosphere, the tallest freestanding tower in America. Going to the top took us even higher than the High Roller from the other day. The views were awesome, and some of us enjoyed the great view with a cold beverage. There were also rides for the daring and brave among us, who were able to jump off the tower and ride a rollercoaster hundreds of feet above the Las Vegas streets! (This was too daring for me, Dr. McCutcheon and I had glasses of water and read a book while enjoying the view.) After students had their fill of excitement, we headed back down to the ground to enjoy the buffet at the Stratosphere for dinner. There was a great array of options, from sushi to spare ribs to a beef carving station and a make your own taco bar. It seemed that everyone found something to eat!

This evening we were back at the MGM Grand for the Pennsylvania delegation's reception. We enjoyed playing for delegation, who much appreciated our contribution to the evening. Many thanks to Lion Jamie Cope for guest conducting the band. We were able to go live on Facebook this morning and again this evening during the delegation performance. We are gratified that so many of you watched, shared, and commented on the videos - if you haven't seen them, check them out on our Facebook page! It was, as the delegation performance always is, a late night - we were all glad to climb into our beds upon our return to the hotel.

Lions Do Las Vegas!

6/30/2018

Our first full day in Las Vegas was a busy one, full of great food, sites to see, and music to play. We started the day with a visit to Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum. Many of our students did not quite understand what this was ahead of time, but they had a blast once they were inside, posing with celebrities of all sorts. Check out the slide show for a selection of our best pictures - you can see them all on our Flickr group: https://www.flickr.com/groups/palionsbandlasvegas/

Following our encounter with greatness, we headed to the Las Vegas monorail to make our way to the MGM Grand, which is the host hotel of the convention (and so swimming with Lions of all nationalities). The monorail itself was a cool ride, giving us some great views as we moved across the Strip. Once we arrived at the MGM Grand, we headed to their food court for lunch. There were lots of great options - Johnny Rockets, a Mexican joint, a Pan Asian restaurant, a pizza place, and a chicken fingers restaurant - I think that everyone was able to find something to eat! After lunch, we moved on to the Luxor, where we took in the Titanic exhibit. This was a great and positive educational experience, allowing students to interact with the past. Highlights included a reproduction of the grand staircase, being able to touch a replica iceberg, and the chance to smell perfume on artifacts recovered from the wreckage. After checking out the Titanic, we headed back to the MGM Grand for a rehearsal for Sunday's flag ceremony.

We rounded out the day with a Las Vegas 51s baseball game, which was awesome. We played the National Anthem before the game began - be sure to check out the video on Facebook. Huge shout out to all of those of you who shared the video - we have nearly 2000 views on the video! Following the National Anthem, we stayed for the game. The 51s are a AAA team for the New York Mets. We had great seats - right behind home plate! We all got coupons to eat at the stadium (there were loads of options!) and shop at their team shop (and indeed, there seemed to be plenty of shopping going on!). It seems that anytime we hit a gift shop, several someones are buying something. Our kids also got in on the contests held down on the field between innings - we had a couple down on the field doing a crazy move called coffee grinders followed by a race (coffee grinders involve putting your head on a baseball bat with the other end on the ground and moving in circles around the bat) and an air guitar contest. The evening was a celebration of the 40th anniversary of Grease, so after the conclusion of the game (the 51s won!), there was a fireworks display set to music from the movie. It was an exciting ending to a great day!

our first night in las vegas

6/29/2018

After taking the afternoon for some rest, we headed out to Vegas for an evening of fun and adventure. First stop, dinner at the Hard Rock Café! Service was quick, food was great (I had the twisted macaroni and cheese, which was awesome!) and of course the Hard Rock is also an interesting place to eat. Much fun was had after dinner looking at the decorations and shopping in the gift shop. Many students bought souvenirs to commemorate the experience - including a lot of drumsticks!

Following dinner, we headed out for a night on the town, Lions Band style! First, we visited the High Roller, a London Eye like Ferris Wheel that took us high in the sky for an awesome view of the city! During the 28 minute ride, we were to see fantastic views of the Strip, many of the iconic features of the Las Vegas landscape, and even some of the surrounding countryside.

After the high point of our day, we headed off to the Mirage, where we watched their "Volcano" show along the Strip. The show, which was produced by the people responsible for the Bellagio fountains, was a simulation of a volcano erupting, using colored water and flame. It was super cool! There was one brief moment when the show stopped early on, and we thought that was it, but it restarted and we were able to see the entire show. After that, we headed back to our hotel for some much needed sleep.

Up tomorrow: a full day of Vegas fun! Madame Tussaud's, the Titanic Exhibit, and a Fifty-Ones baseball game!

A safe arrival and an exciting first day

6/29/2018

Yesterday, we arrived in Las Vegas! Our flight out of BWI was very early (6:45!), so we left Gettysburg College VERY early Thursday morning (or very late Wednesday night, depending on your perspective) for the airport. The bus ride was uneventful, as was the flight. We arrived in Vegas with all people, luggage, and equipment accounted for! We were, by that point at 9am Vegas time, VERY tired. It was immediately apparent that we were in Las Vegas, however. Airports may look much the same across the world, but not in Vegas! We were greeted by the site of the ever ubiquitous Vegas slot machines - somewhat surprising in the airport, but there you have it.

Following our arrival at the airport, we met our tour director, Charles, loaded the buses and were off!

The airport is close to the Strip, so we were quickly greeted with our first views of Las Vegas. On our way to the hotel, we stopped at the iconic "Welcome to Las Vegas" sing for a photo. (Check back later for the group photo!) This was also our introduction to the Las Vegas heat - not even 10 am and already in the 90s!

We then quickly arrived at our hotel, which had managed to prepare our rooms even though we were arriving extremely early. We spent the rest of the morning and the afternoon getting settled in and resting from our travels. Our hotel is great - we are located off the strip (so we can't walk to the strip), but are very close, so it's a short bus ride, which is nice. The hotel staff is also great, so we are well taken care of for the next week!

Farewell Gettysburg... Viva Las Vegas!

6/29/2018

It is hard to believe that an entire year has passed since we traveled to Chicago to celebrate the centennial of Lionism, and yet, here we are, embarking on another outrageously fun Lions band trip! Much has happened yesterday and today - unfortunately, for most of us, one thing that did NOT happen was sleep! So, here we are, in Vegas, and very, very sleepy. To that end, I shall write about last evening's concert and leave the flight and events of today for tomorrow.

Last Sunday, approximately 70 students and band staff arrived at Gettysburg College, where we have been preparing for our tour to Las Vegas. This included the usual rehearsals and shenanigans - pool night, hanging out at the Attic, enjoying the stylings of Servo... While many things were the same as previous years, there was one marked difference - Ray Barfield retired from the band after last year's trip, and Vincent LoRusso has replaced him as chairman of the Lions Band Committee.

Ray many not be with us on the trip, but we know he's still thinking of us, as he made the trip from Bedford to Gettysburg for Wednesday's concert! It was great to see him and catch up, even if it was a bit odd to see him sitting in the audience.

We were also excited to have another very special guest - our own former director, Bob Zellner! We have missed Bob Z. the past two international trips, and so were pleased to have him and Arlene, along with their family, join us for our concert! Mr. Z. even conducted the Pennsylvania Polka at the conclusion of our concert - you can check out the video on our Facebook page.

The concert was also well attended by family members and members of our local Lions clubs, many of whom became Band Boosters to help support the band. (Woohoo! Thanks for the support!) Many of our Lions club members were showing their Lions pride, rocking their vests, tshirts,, and hats.

The concert included a mix of the iconic Lions Band numbers - America the Beautiful, God of our Fathers, and of course, the Pennsylvania Polka - and new repertoire that students have rehearsed over the past week, including a medley from the musical The Music Man. (appropriate, right?!?) The concert ensemble and the jazz band were in fine form, and there were many compliments at the end of the night!

Following the concert, we had some time to enjoy ice cream with our family, friends, and fellow Lions, before loading up the truck. Then it was back to the dorms for a good night's sleep - or, well, basically a nap, as we checked out of those dorms and loaded the buses at 2:30 AM!

We have safely arrived in Las Vegas and had a full day of rehearsal and fun, not to mention a great meal at the Hard Rock Café. I will post more about all of these activities tomorrow, when I have a had a good night's sleep and do not feel as though I am going to fall over.

To finish us up for the evening, some pictures from last night's concert:

And We're Back!

7/5/2017

It's hard to believe that our trip has flown by, and we are already home! Who knew that ten days could go so quickly??? Today we had a short bus ride home, since we split the drive up by stopping at Cedar Point. We made good time getting home, and I know that while we were all happy to be there, we were also sad to see our new and old friends go.

Keep your eyes peeled for information about next year - the state convention is in State College, and the international convention is in Las Vegas! We still need to confirm that we are a go for Vegas, but the omens are looking good.

Here's to a great trip, a happy fourth of July, and I hope that everyone has a great year before we see each other again next year!