The Mid-Iowa Band Championship takes place on Saturday, Oct 19. with the opening ceremony starting at 3:50 pm at Northview. Bands begin performing at  4:00 pm starting with the smaller 2A bands and ending with the larger 4A bands, with awards starting at 11:00 pm. 

Mid-Iowa presents an opportunity for bands across Iowa to compete against each other and get feedback from highly qualified judges.

“No one really knows when Mid-Iowa started,” Ankeny High School (AHS) band director Jennifer Williams said. “It was just designed as a way to culminate the end of marching band season for everybody.”

Mid-Iowa had been occurring before the split between Ankeny and Centennial and they still co-host the competition together, both performing in exhibition. Centennial performs at 7:15 p.m. and Ankeny ends the night at 10:45 p.m.

“This year is the biggest Mid-Iowa we have had in my time here with 24 performing bands,” Williams said. “There are [around] 60 buses, 40 trailers, and over 2,500 performers.”

Marching band competitions classify bands in different categories. Mid-Iowa will have 2A, 3A, and 4A which are decided based on the amount of students enrolled in the high school, 4A being the largest. When Williams started she said there were approximately 3 or 4 4A schools attending Mid-Iowa, and now there are 12.

“I don’t think people realize that, next to the Ankeny, Ankeny Centennial game, this is the most full the stadium will be,” Williams said. 

Mid-Iowa is not only a way for AHS to show the audience their performance, but an opportunity to watch other schools’ shows.

“I think it’s right to cheer for them like they cheer for us,” field manager and AHS senior Ava Sesker said. “They’re going to give us respect and we’re going to give them the respect because they work just as hard as we did to put out a performance, and learn their music, learn their marching show.”

Marching band takes a lot of dedication from the students because every week a new visual may be added or changed giving the audience something new to look for or notice for the first time.

“My husband commented the other day, ‘Have your drum majors always acted silly during the tuba solo?’” Williams said. “I was like, ‘Yeah, we pretty much have been doing that [for a while].’”

The Marching Hawks have especially made some changes and improvements this year compared to last, adding intense visuals throughout the performance.

“I think it’s definitely energetic in some parts,” Sesker said. “Captain Hook really adds into it, us playing actors as little children, definitely helps build the show, build the scene.”

AHS does not only have high expectations when it comes to visuals but music as well, in this years show “For Those Who Never Grow Up” the band will play the musical selections “Lost Boy” by Ruth B, “Four Scottish Dance (part two)” by Malcom Arnold, “When Your Feet Don’t Touch the Ground” and “All That Matters” from the Broadway musical “Finding Neverland.”

“I love watching the show get better and build and grow,” Williams said. “At Valleyfest, when we played the big ballad hit, I was like, ‘This is the best an Ankeny band has sounded at Valleyfest in my career.’ And that was a moment of excitement, pride, and joy.”

The Ankeny Marching Hawks do not only grow in rehearsal but outside of it. They get together with their instrument groups, or sections, and rehearse the music, practice visuals, or just spend time together.

“We always get together and go out on sectionals and just kind of become our own little family within your section,” clarinet player and AHS junior Avery Haubrich said.

Many of the sections go out to eat after the Friday night half-time show or Saturday competitions.

“[We] get to discuss our successes and say good things to each other if there’s something we really thought we did well, and be able to all share that moment,” Sesker said.

From what it seems, while the Marching Hawks put on a good performance it is about a lot more than that for them.

“I’m proud of what this group has accomplished, both on the field and off the field,” Williams said. “It’s really awesome to me to see when everybody’s holding their cell phones up [for the flashlight], and the Ankeny Marching Hawks don’t have their cell phones because they know what the expectation is.” 

Williams appreciates a lot about the band and how the show has turned out this year.

 “We had members of our band stand up and cheer for the bands in 12th place,” Williams said. “Those things like watching all of you as great humans become greater humans is really important to me.”