Drum Corps Associates (DCA) will return to Annapolis for an encore performance when it presents the 49th Annual DCA World Championships at Navy-Marine Corps Stadium Friday through Sunday, August 30 to September 1.
Event organizers say more than 3,000 performers comprising 30 of the world’s best all-age drum corps will be traveling to Annapolis from the United States, Canada, and Germany to compete in what is considered the “Super Bowl” of drum and bugle corps. They anticipate the performers and their fans will account for more than 5,000 room nights in Annapolis and Anne Arundel County.
For the first time in DCA history, a German drum corps will compete. The Heartliner Drum & Bugle Corps of Ludwigshafen, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany is slated to compete in the class “A” division. Other new editions to this year’s lineup are: Sun Devils from Florida; Centurions from Connecticut; Lakeshoremen from Michigan; and High Country Brass from Colorado.
As was the case when the World Championships took place in Annapolis last year, DCA will give area residents a preview of what’s to come during a free concert at City Dock on Thursday evening, August 29. “DCA at the Dock,” will feature a few of the early arrival drum corps in concert at Susan Campbell Park beginning at 5:00 p.m. The Annapolis Drum and Bugle Corps is also expected to participate.
Drum corps enthusiasts who can’t make it to City Dock on Thursday evening may still get a taste of what’s to come if they live near any of the 33 fields across the county that the bands will be practicing on throughout the weekend.
The DCA schedule of performances at Navy-Marine Corps Stadium is as follows:
- Thursday, August 29 – 5:00 p.m. – DCA at the Dock – Free performance
- Friday, August 30 – 4:00 p.m. – Individual /Ensemble and Mini Corps at Navy-Marine Corps Stadium – Free admission
- Saturday, August 31 – 2:00 p.m. – DCA Championship Preliminary Competition. Ticket prices range from $27 to $39.
- Sunday, September 1 – 10:00 a.m. – Alumni Spectacular featuring “old school” drum corps. Ticket prices range from $18 to $28.
- Sunday, September 1 – 5:00 p.m. – DCA World Championship Finals – Winners of Saturday’s preliminaries square off for the title. Ticket prices range from $32 to $79.
For ticket information, visit www.dcacorps.org. For tickets, call 855-632-8090.
Last year, the 48th Annual Drum Corps Associates World Championships represented the largest single event ever booked by the Annapolis & Anne Arundel County Conference and Visitors Bureau (AAACCVB).
