It was a great weekend to be a Bridgemen. On Saturday, November 11th, 150+ Bridgemen, family and friends attended a tasty Beefsteak Dinner in the Andrean Room at St. Andrew School. But, prior to partaking in the culinary delights, we made sure some business was attended to. The Bridgemen Alumni held a very successful meeting outlining a very aggressive social calendar for the upcoming months. There will be Santa in Bayonne for the kids, 60s/70s/80s era Bridgemen parties at the Post, the legendary First Saturday party in January, the Memorial Day Picnic and more for our ever growing family to get together with their Bridgemen brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open for more information on these opportunities to socialize with some of the nicest people this side of the Mississippi. Great job Alumni Committee!

Now, Beefsteak Bridgemen! What's that all about? Well, Claire Kronenfeld, Lori Law, Luis Santiago, Nancy DuCharme, and Antoinette Zbylut put together a culinary extravaganza that will set all of us South Beach dieters back a few weeks. A constant flow of Filet Mignon, French Fries, Salad, Beer, Wine and Soda was all that was needed to fuel another great party by the Bridgemen. Throw all those goodies together with a bunch of Bridgemen and you'll see 5 hours fly by faster than a speeding bullet. Besides the food, there was great music that let us dance and sing the night away. But the highlight of the evening was the now famous TRICKY TRAY RAFFLE. Basket after basket filled with goodies such as food, sporting event tickets, booze, Bridgemen souvies and DVDs were raffled off to the attendees that purchased tickets. Many a happy face was seen when the magic numbers were called.

On Sunday, November 12th, the full corps met again for our second rehearsal of the 2007 season. The level of excitement continues to run high as everyone is gearing up to “Raise the Bar“ another notch. The drumline, which also practiced all day on Saturday, was exceptionally sharp for this early in the year. The reason: Bob Dubinski. Doobie did his usual feat of accomplishing more in 2 days than most of us can accomplish in 10. The hornline and Color Guard also had solid rehearsals concentrating on In The Stone to get our new members up and running on that Bridgemen Classic. New horn instructors Dennis Argul and Gabe Gulino, both veterans of Bayonne, settled into the groove and demonstrated their talent. The 100+ members that attended practice got a preview of our potential at the end of the day's Show and Tell. If this is how we sound and look in November, the sky is the limit for 2007!

- John Richard, Drum Major

Musical Selections Announced for the 2007 Bridgemen!

The new year will allow our talented, experienced performers to tackle a more challenging show and bump up the level of entertainment the audience craves. The 2007 show will be launched by Ritual Fire Dance/Sabre Dance, the dynamic opener from 1978 that best exemplifies the fire power our brass and percussion lines bring to the field. The Color Guard has already been practicing the energetic, fast choreography that will make this chart a winner with audiences.

Next, we'll cruise into My Favorite Things, a smooth classic from 1973 (which the Kilts emulated in 1977) that our members want a second chance at. The varying colors and textures of this piece make it a challenge to play and a pleasure to perform.

What I Did for Love and One (from the musical A Chorus Line) harkens back to the corps rebirth in 1976, when Bobby Hoffman first brought Broadway-style showmanship to the field. The lush melody leads into the exhilarating, carefree dancers' chance to perform in the spotlight.

Then we'll have a light-hearted segment that pays tribute to memorable charts in the activity with Great Moments in Drum Corps History. We'll have to wait and see what charts are chosen in the coming months; there's so much to choose from and so much fun we can have with the choices!

In the Stone, our production number from 1980-1981, returns again to give everyone a good time and enjoy the wicked rhythms this chart delivers. This funky masterpiece will again have the audience clapping along as we turn up the intensity a notch.

And The William Tell Overture, first played between 1972 and 1978, will again unleash a wall of sound on the unsuspecting crowd that will prove how outrageous we are.