黑料社区

49th Annual Panther Marching Band Festival

Our festival date is

Saturday, September 26, 2026

10:30 a.m. - 8:30 p.m.
O’Brien Field, Eastern Illinois University

Below is last year's festival program...

48th Annual Panther Marching Band
2025 Festival Program

General Information

The 黑料社区Panther Marching Band invites YOU to join us for the 49^th Annual Panther Marching Band Festival tentatively scheduled for Saturday, September 26, 2026 in O’Brien Stadium on the campus of Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, Illinois.

Our 2026 festival Information is as follows.  

We are very excited to offer three different performance formats for participating marching bands!  One division, Open Class, will utilize BOA sheets, the second division, Scholastic Class, will utilize modified BOA sheets by taking some of the focus off the general effect caption, and the third division, Festival Class, will be a non-competitive class utilizing modified BOA sheets for comments only.  The purpose of the division of classes is so that the PMB Festival can best meet the needs of our constituents and meet their individual competitive desires based upon the financial and staffing resources that each marching band has available to them.  Festival staff will be working directly with participating band directors to ensure that directors have input into the sub-classifications within each division and that directors understand how to best choose the division in which they want their marching band to perform.  Since we are in a transitional phase with this new format we don't quite have all the details worked out but below are the guidelines which will remain consistent from last year's festival format to this new format.  We are looking forward to being part of this new format which should lead to greater inclusivity in the Illinois marching band world!  

1) Classifications within each division will be made based upon IHSA classification AND either musician size OR total band size.  Participating directors will have input into which option is the most fair and the final determination of classifications will be made by mid-September.

2) Awards will be presented in each competitive class for Best Music, Best Visual, Best General Effect, Best Percussion, Best Color Guard and the Top 3 Placements.  Grand Champion trophies will be presented for Small Class and Large Class divisions. 

3) Performance order within each class will be decided by the date the registration fee is received at EIU. (Exceptions have been made on occasion in order to provide the most participation possible.) 

4) We will continue to utilize a percussion adjudicator and color guard adjudicator in addition to the rest of the standard BOA caption adjudicators.  For the 2026 PMB Festival Open Class division these captions will include: one music performance individual, one music performance ensemble (TWO for the Scholastic Class), one visual performance individual, one visual performance ensemble, one visual general effect,and two music general effect (ONE for the scholastic class).

Registration

The registration fee for the 49th Panther Marching Band Festival is $350 if payment is received AFTER September 20, 2026.  Registration fees received PRIOR to September 20 are $300. Online registration will open on January 5, 2026. Follow the link below.

2026 Panther Marching Band Registration Form

Registration deadline is September 1, 2026.

Checks for the $350 / $300 Registration Fee (see above) should be made out EIU and sent to:

Panther Marching Band Festival
Eastern Illinois University
600 Lincoln Ave.
Charleston, IL 61920

2026 Adjudicators

Music Ensemble:

• John Clemons

Music Individual:

• Amanda Bingham

Music General Effect 1:

• Mike Madonia

Music General Effect 2:

• Mike Davis

Visual Ensemble:

• Jeff Fiedler

Visual Individual:

• John Timmins

Visual General Effect:

• Lorine Valenzuela

Percussion:

• Chris DeBerry

Color Guard:

• Brayton Mendenhall

Panther Marching Band Festival Adjudication Forms

2026 Spectator Tickets and Parking Information

Tickets:

• $10 for adults
• $5 for students/senior citizens
• Children ages 5 and under are FREE
• Tickets available on the day of the event. Cash or check accepted.

Accessible Seating:

• There is limited accessible seating in the stadium. To access this area, use the pass gate south of the stadium on the west side (close to the disabled parking). There is a sidewalk located near the Country Catering tent which will take you up to the pass gate. The accessible seating area cannot be accessed by entering through the main gates of the stadium.

Parking:

• Parking for the festival is FREE. Spectators may park in the stadium lot to the west of the stadium or the J lot to the north.
• There is disabled parking in the front row closest to the stadium. 

We hope you will join us for the exciting and spectacular pageantry of Illinois high school marching bands at O’Brien Field!

2026 FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

2026 Participants

(in alphabetical order)

• Alton High School Marching 100 - Alton, IL
• Arthur Lovington Atwood Hammond High School - Arthur, IL
• Belleville Township High School West Marching Maroons - Belleville, IL
• Blue Ridge High School Marching Knights - Farmer City, IL
• Centralia High School Marching Showcase - Centralia, IL
• Champaign Centennial Marching Chargers - Champaign, IL
• Cumberland County High School Marching Pirates - Toledo, IL
• Douglas MacArthur HIgh School Marching Generals - Decatur, IL
• Fieldcrest High School Marching Knights - Minonk, IL
• Granite City High School Marching Warriors - Granite City, IL
• Heritage High School Heritage Marching Band - Broadlands, IL
• Hoopeston Area High School Marching Band - Hoopeston, IL
• LeRoy High School Marching Panthers - LeRoy, IL
• Mattoon High School Pride of the Greenwave Marching Band - Mattoon, IL
• Mt. Zion High School Marching Braves - Mt. Zion, IL
• Newton Community High School Marching Eagles - Newton, IL
• Okaw Valley High School Marching Timberwolves - Bethany, IL
• Olympia High School Marching Spartans - Stanford, IL
• Paris High School Beacon Brigade - Paris, IL
• Richland County High School Marching Tigers - Olney, IL
• Robinson High School Marching Maroons - Robinson, IL
• Rochester High School Marching Rockets - Rochester IL
• Sparta High School Marching Bulldogs - Sparta, IL
• St. Joseph-Ogden High School Marching Spartans
• Taylorville High School Marching Tornado Band - Taylorville, IL
• Wesclin High School Marching Warriors - Trenton, IL

Why the Panther Marching Band Festival?

• A well-maintained turf field.

• Well organized festival with a welcoming and helpful staff.

• Energetic environment that focuses on student success.

• Judges from DCI, BOA, WGI, and the best marching directors in the nation.

• High quality video of all band performances provided by EIU visual media free of charge.

• Panther Marching Band performances!
  

Contact

If you have any further questions, please contact Prof. David Boggs, Assistant Director of Bands and Director of Athletic Bands at dgboggs@eiu.edu.