FESTIVAL FORMAT 

PERFORMANCE SITE
Performances take place in local schools, churches, colleges or other performance venues located near the amusement park. At each location, we will greet you upon arrival and provide assistance and directions for your group.  Click on the MAP'S LINKS tab for your specified location.  

ARRIVAL TIME
  You must arrive prior to your warm-up time to unload buses and move into the school building or facility for check-in at the contest desk. 

PERFORMANCE TIME

   “On Stage” time is limited to 20 minutes, including setup and dismissal for instrumental and vocal groups.  Music selections should total less than 20 minutes.  Judges will evaluate quality, not quantity.  There is no contest or required selection list; you may perform selections of your choice.  In fact, medleys or “pop” selections for bands, choirs, or orchestras are acceptable and encouraged for one or more of your selections.  Each ensemble, vocal, or instrument group will be adjudicated on TWO selections only!

EQUIPMENT
 Instrumental groups should leave cases on the bus and carry instruments into the building, weather permitting.  Please bring all of the electronic equipment your students are accustomed to rehearsing with, as our event sites provide only extension cords. In the Warm-up Room:  We provide chairs and a piano. On Stage:  We provide chairs, stands, risers, acoustic piano, Director Podium, bass drum, three timpani, and a xylophone.  You must bring all other percussion,  mallets, and sticks.  Vocal groups must provide their own “boombox” for performance, if needed.

DRESS/UNIFORM
Students are expected to dress casually.  Judges do not give extra credit for uniforms or formal dress, and students will not be able to change clothes in the building.  Most groups perform in the casual clothes (jeans, shorts, etc) they will be wearing to the park that day.  Of course, Show Choirs may have uniform changes due to the nature of their program.  The choice of wearing uniforms is up to each director, but the majority of the groups do not.

SCORES
Please furnish your musical scores when you arrive in the warm-up room.  Jazz Bands and Show Choirs are exempt from providing scores.  There will be no taped critique – only written comments by the panel.  You will receive a written critique sheet with point tabulations from each judge.  Two copies of the conductor scores are required for the judges.  If published scores cannot by supplied, copies are acceptable and legal, provided they are destroyed after use.

Extra Tickets

 Extra tickets may be purchased on the day of the performance from the Festival Office – cash or check only. Checks must have a picture ID. Prices are listed in the brochure.

 Set-Up Crew

 It is imperative that all directors have a set-up crew assigned.  It is best to have 2 or 3 adults to help our own stage crew.  We do everything we can to stay on schedule so that everyone may get to the park as soon as possible.  Please cooperate with us in this manner.

 Awards Ceremony

  Frontier City Awards Ceremonies will be held at the park at 5:00 p.m. Celebration City Award's Ceremony will be at 4:00 pm at the Trolley Pavilion and Silver Dollar City Award's Ceremony will take place at 6:00 pm at the Echo Hollow Amphitheatre.  Please attend the ceremony. We have many surprises and awards for groups and individuals.

 Awards

No other festival of this kind presents as many awards to groups or individual students as Heartland Music Fest.  In addition to each group receiving a rating plaque, awards will be given for the following: Outstanding Musical Achievement to high point totals in instrumental and vocal categories; Outstanding Musical Achievement to individual student musicians; and Sweepstakes trophies to those groups earning the highest point totals for elementary, junior high/middle school and high school, providing there are enough entries in these categories.

SCHEDULE
Since you and your students look forward to spending the afternoon in the park, it is important that we remain on schedule during the morning performances. Please give careful attention to arriving on time, setting-up without delay, and performing within the twenty minute limit. If we all strive to stay on schedule, the day will be pleasant and rewarding for everyone.