For years, the focus for the Big 30 All-Star Charities Classic has been showcasing athletic talent on the field and inviting the cheerleaders and homecoming queens to attend and show support. However, last year’s game had a new addition to the festivities: A Big 30 Band.

Big 30 Band Director Cole Palmer discussed the idea with the Big 30 committee in December of 2023. From there, the idea took on a life of its own.

The band has four advisors between the musical side of things and the color guard. Head Director Cole Palmer is the marching band director at Otto-Eldred, and teaches kindergarten at Oswayo Valley. Otto-Eldred and Oswayo Valley co-op for football, fall cheer, and marching band. Assistant Band Director Emily Housler is the band director at Smethport Area School District. This will be her first year with the Big 30 Band, and she has been a great addition with her knowledge and expertise.

Rounding out the advisors are Donya Mealy, Head Color Guard Advisor, who is the Color Guard Advisor at Otto-Eldred, and Kitty Cattoni, Assistant Color Guard Advisor, who serves as the volunteer assistant guard advisor at Otto-Eldred.

Palmer explained that all schools in the Big 30 region are invited to nominate participants, similar to that of the football and cheerleading selection process.

“This year, we have kids from Cameron County, Bradford, Port Allegany, Smethport, Otto-Eldred, and Portville,” Palmer said. “Our primary goal is to bring together talented musicians from the region. We hope to inspire pride and excitement to our audience. Ultimately, we want to carry on the marching band tradition and bring new energy to the Big 30 Game.”

For the 2025 game, the color guard has the largest representation. Last year, only two members were nominated. This year, there are 12.

“We had a really good response from last year’s participants. The kids were honored to be a part of the first ever Big 30 Marching Band, and I think this year’s group brings the same energy,” Palmer said. “We do have a few kids returning from last year, but many of the ensemble is new. I think the excitement grew over the school year and we see that most with the color guard.”

The band begins practice July 22 and practices a total of six times before the game. Practices this year are hosted by Smethport, Bradford, and Otto-Eldred.

“My goal for each practice is everyone learns, they grow as a musician, have fun, and they gain friendships from other schools,” Palmer explained.

The band will march in the Big 30 parade, perform the National Anthem as well as some stand tunes during the game, and will perform a brief “park and bark” style halftime show. During halftime they will perform “Applause” by Lady Gaga and “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers.

“For this year we are trying to run things as similar to last year as possible as we saw lots of success within our ensemble last year,” Palmer said. “The one thing we are modifying is the length of stand tunes at the game. We want to have some short tunes for explosive plays that happen, that way we can add to the energy for both PA and NY teams.”

The game will take place at 7 p.m. Aug. 2 at Parkway Field.