Fairfax High Band Boosters Launch GoFundMe To Replace Ol' Blue

FAIRFAX CITY, VA — Fairfax High School Band Boosters are raising money to replace a City of Fairfax icon — Big Ol' Blue, the band's old box truck that had a penchant for catching fire on occasion.

"Ol' Blue was old when we acquired it about 20 years ago and we think Ol' Blue is 20 years older than that," said Director of Bands Patric Buchroeder. "A healthy chunk of its life it's been held together with prayers and good wishes, a little duct tape, and band-dad elbow grease."

A few years back, Ol' Blue's engine caught fire during one of the marching band's competitions.

"She got it through another season, but then our last full season in 2019, one of the brake lines leaked and caught fire," Buchroeder said. "At that point, she was done. There was no more money to be put into it."

Ol' Blue was towed away and the band department used rental trucks and other means to finish out the 2019 competition season.

"The plan that we have for securing our transportation moving forward is instead of doing another truck, we going to go with some band trailers," Buchroeder said. "It's going to help us duplicate and maybe slightly expand our storage capacity, but it's also going to be easier to maintain."

The band boosters recently launched a GoFundMe campaign with the goal of raising $20,000 to pay for the purchase of two new trailers. As of 3:30 p.m., on Tuesday, the campaign had already brought in more than $10,000.

Currently, the Fairfax High School marching band has approximately 130 students, making it the largest student organization on campus.

"That is a growth in numbers, despite the craziness of virtual learning and everything else," Buchroeder said. "We actually grew somewhat compared to the previous year."

In addition to giving half-time performances during high school football games, the marching band also takes part in competitions around Virginia.

"We have the distinction of being a 10-Year Honor Band, which means that we've achieved superior ratings at both concert band assessment, which is typically held in the spring, and at marching band assessment in the fall," Buchroeder said. "That one-two punch shows excellence all-around."

Students also participate in the jazz ensemble, three concert bands, winter drum line, and a winter guard. The marching band also performs in two local parades — the city's July 4th celebration and the Halloween parade in the Mosby Woods neighborhood.

Although the the school system funds the music curriculum and the marching band, the band program relies on fundraisers like the GoFundMe campaign help support additional opportunities for students.

"What these trailers in particular do is give us some additional flexibility and, over the long-term, greater savings for the community by being able to essentially lockdown some of those necessary expenses in a way that over time will certainly put us ahead,"Buchroeder said.