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The Virginia Beach Music Festival began in 1962 under the sponsorship of the Chamber of
Commerce, the Virginia Beach Innkeepers, and Forbes Candies, Inc. The idea for the
festival came from Charles Forbes, president of Forbes Candies, following a visit in 1961
to a band clinic in Florida where he spoke on fund-raising techniques. Logan Turrentine,
band director of Hialeah High School and president of the Florida Band Masters
Association, designed and developed the festival. The competition, usually held in late
May/early June, was open to high school bands and featured three phases: sight-reading,
marching band; and concert band performances. In the first year, seven bands competed; at
its peak in 1973, twenty-two bands participated. A highlight of the contest was a parade
down Atlantic Avenue by competing bands. In 1968, the Virginia Beach Chamber of Commerce
assumed sole sponsorship of the Music Festival. By 1983, participation was down; only two
bands entered resulting in the festival being cancelled for that year.
After
reorganization in 1983, the Music Festival became known as Virginia Beach Festivals, Inc.
under the directorship of Chris Izzo. Virginia Beach Festivals became a non-profit
organization with a board of directors including three members appointed by the Tourist
Bureau, three by the Chamber of Commerce, and two at-large members. Funding came in part
from the City Council which voted in 1983 to give Virginia Beach Festivals $60,000 which
was to be paid back over a three-year period. Efforts to hold another band competition
were made in 1987, but, despite the reorganization, the festival did not revive. The last
competition was held in 1982.
This collection consists of photographic images from high school band festivals held in 1962, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980 and one unknown year.
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