THE KITCHENER LIONS NORTHSTAR DRUM AND BUGLE CORPS

Several times during June and July of 1976 a committee from The Flying Dutchman Drum Corps lnc. met a committee from the Dutch Boy Cadet Drum & Bugle Corps Inc, to discuss a merger or the forming of a new drum corps in the cities of Kitchener and Waterloo.

On August 9th 20, 1976, a final agreement was reached by the two committees that a new drum corps would be formed to compete at the DC I level.

This new corps was to be called The Kitchener Lions Northstar Drum and Bugle Corps. The official announcement was to be made to both corps at their separate practices, August 24, 1976. The news was received by the Boards and Corps members with mixed feelings - some were glad, some were sad.

A Drum Corps Appreciation Day and recruiting drive was held at Centennial Stadium in September when the Northstar's signed up approximately 25 new members but many of these were in the 12 - 14 age group.

The Directors of the Northstar Drum Corps felt that in order for a Corps the calibre the Northstars would have to be to compete in DCI they would have to have a constant supply of talent readily available to them each year.

It was soon apparent to the Directors that they would again have to get into operating two drum corps - something they had just got out of.

On February 13, 1977 a recruiting drive was held for the new feeder corps - The Cadets of Dutch Boy Drum and Bugle Corps - with 77 new recruits signing up to be under Corps Director John Robins.

The Northstar's first hometown performance was June 11, 1977 and it was an important chance -for them to impress the crowd and be accepted as a K-W Corps.

Northstars were marching towards the starting line just as the Ventures' last strains of music could be heard. The response from the audience was non-stop cheering as they lined up to enter the field and Northstars were introduced. When the show was completed it was obvious that we were accepted by the citizens of Kitchener. Not only did Northstar win the city's recognition but they also came in second place, just points behind Seneca Optimists.

It soon became apparent that the need existed-for an organized approach to fund raising. The expense associated with operating two Drum Corps are overwhelming. Thus the dire need o-f an active Booster Club quickly became evident. The Northstar - Dutchboy Booster club was formed, however it wasn't until the late summer of 1977, under the leadership of John Robins, that it really got off the ground. In the first year of operation the Booster Club raised more than one-third of the organization's operating expenses.

The Northstar Drum and Bugle Corps completed the 1977 season by finishing third in the Canadian National Championships and missed their goal of being in the Top 25 at DCI, Denver, by placing 27th.

Jump to a year by year look at this corps including synopsis, repertoire, photos, video and audio CLICK HERE.