The Parkersburg South High School Marching Band poses after winning Grand Champion and Class A Champion, among other categories, at the Jim Kessell Marching Band Festival on Oct. 8 at Parkersburg High School. Parkersburg South is seventh in the points standings of the Governor’s Cup Marching Band Series concluding Saturday at the state Marching Band Invitational Championship in Charleston. (Photo Provided)

CHARLESTON — Parkersburg South High School goes into the 11th annual West Virginia Marching Band Invitational Championship on Saturday seventh in the point standings in the Governor’s Cup Marching Band Series.

The festival is the conclusion of the second annual Governor’s Cup series sponsored by the Department of Arts, Culture and History.

Local marching bands will be among the 47 units performing at Laidley Field, University of Charleston.

PSHS is in the top 10 in the rankings based on the points received from 12 marching band competitions held across the state. Points also will be awarded Saturday at the invitational.

At seventh with 12 points in the standings, PSHS is followed by Paden City Junior-Senior High School at eighth with 11 and Tyler Consolidated at ninth with 10. Bands collected points by competing in at least four of the local competitions.

Forty-three bands competed in the series and are eligible to win prizes. For each Governor’s Cup event, the grand champion received 5 points; 1st runner-up received 4 points; 2nd runner-up received 3 points; 3rd runner-up received 2 points; the 4th runner-up received 1 point; and 1 point for each class champion in A, B, C and D.

The Governor’s Cup will award $3,250 to the grand champion; $2,000 to the 1st runner-up; $1,000 to the 2nd runner-up; $750 to the 3rd runner-up; and $500 to the 4th runner-up.

The series promotes the department’s Save The Music Foundation program, which provides free musical instruments to middle schools and allows the department to distribute prize money to high school bands.

Local marching bands in the festival and their schedules are: 11:15 a.m. Wirt County High School, Class D; 12:30 p.m. Calhoun Middle High School, Class D; 12:45 p.m. Ravenswood High School, Class C2; 1:15 p.m. St. Marys High School, Class D; 1:30 p.m. Parkersburg High School, Class C2; 1:45 p.m. Paden City High School, Class C1; 2:30 p.m. Williamstown High School, Class C1; 6 p.m. Doddridge County High School, Exhibition; 8 p.m. PSHS, Class A.

The PSHS performance immediately precedes the induction ceremony for Tom Eschbacher, the late principal and band director at PSHS, into the Marching Bands Hall of Fame.

The preliminary rounds of the drums at the Capitol drumline competition will begin at 2 p.m. at the Capitol Complex and will feature drumlines from 14 schools. Local participants in the Drums at the Capitol competition will be: 2:30 p.m. Ripley High School; 3:15 p.m. PHS; 4 p.m. Paden City High School; 4:15 p.m. Williamstown High School.

In 2017 the Legislature proclaimed the invitational the Official State Marching Band Championship of West Virginia.

“We are pleased to have such a good turnout of high school marching bands from across the Mountain State attending this year’s invitational,” West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History Curator Randall Reid-Smith said.

The competition includes judging for music, music effect, general effect, marching, percussion, drum major, color guard, majorettes and twirlers. A Miss Majorette competition also is held at the event with the drumline competition.