Most people that know about the color guard only know them as a colorful accompaniment to the band during the half time show of a football game. What they may not know is there is much more to color guard than just performing for a Friday night crowd. When marching season is over and the second semester starts, the color guard turns into something new, called the winter guard. The LC-M Winter Guard performed their first showcase last Saturday in the high school gym and it proved to be a successful event with a large turnout.

Most winter guards create a “show” or production that is performed inside and travel to competitions to perform and compete against other winter guards. They also perform solos and ensembles. The LCM Color Guard has not done winter guard previously, so they decided to use this year as a “trial year.” They created a show and had solos and ensembles, but instead of competing, they put on a showcase for the Orange community.

“Performing should always be about having fun and doing what you know how to do,” color guard instructor Brittany Tawater said.

The color guard kept all their fall members from marching season and took on seven new members. All of the new members that joined winter guard this season had never experienced color guard and had to just jump into the swing of things.

“Learning flag and rifle was so hard,” junior and first-time color guard member Brooke Tant said. “Once I got some of it down, I really enjoyed learning new things and challenging myself.”

The color guard had rehearsals on Tuesday and Friday afternoons to prepare for the big showcase and the group also had a Saturday morning rehearsal to make sure the show was ready to present. Since the 24 members of winter guard are all involved in other activities as well, it proved challenging to coordinate a practice schedule that worked for everyone.

“I can only say I wish we had more time, but we made it work for what we had, considering we all have a lot of obligations,” Tawater said.

The winter guard’s performance was titled, “Who Walks in When I Walk Out” and was western-themed with many lively characters such as saloon girls, gypsies, and even a farmer. Many solos and ensembles were also performed.

“Hearing the audience cheer after the duet I had worked on since November and hearing people appreciate my hard work is the best feeling,” senior and first-time winter guard member Austin Slagle said.