Carnival Cruise Lines is partnering with Houston CBS affiliate KHOU 11 for “The Battle of the High School Marching Bands” competition in Greater Houston. The contest celebrates the musical talent of local area students, and will award one talented band a $10,000 cash prize from Carnival and the opportunity to perform aboard one of Carnival’s ships in Galveston on a turnaround day this fall.
For the next three weeks, high school marching bands in the greater Houston area are invited to showcase their school spirit and musical talent in a video in which they perform their school’s fight song, alma mater or original piece of music. The video must be three minutes or less, identify the name of the school and reference “The Battle of the High School Marching Bands” contest. Bands can upload their video to YouTube, and email the link to their performance to bands@khou.com as their submission. Contest entry form and details can be found at www.khou.com/features. The deadline for entry is Sunday, September 28, 2014 at 5:00 p.m. CDT. Carnival will select five finalists based on sound, musical ability and style.
“Carnival is truly excited to provide this fun and unique opportunity to Houston-area high school students to show off their musical talent, win money for their school and enjoy a terrific day of fun aboard a Carnival ship this fall,” said Jim Berra, chief marketing officer for Carnival Cruise Lines. “We are strong believers in supporting our homeport communities and Houston is our number one source market for our cruises from Galveston which currently carry more than 475,000 guests a year. With the addition of a third year-round ship in 2015, that number is expected to increase to more than 600,000, making Galveston our second largest homeport,” Berra added.
Beginning October 13, fans can rally around the KHOU 11 Facebook page (www.facebook.com/KHOU11) and vote for their favorite band out of the five finalists, up to one time per day through October 22. Viewers can tune into KHOU 11 “News in the Morning” the week of October 27 to learn which local band is the grand prize winner, receiving $10,000 from Carnival to help fund the school’s music program and the opportunity to perform aboard one of Carnival’s “Fun Ships” on a turnaround day in Galveston this fall. The four additional band finalists will each receive a $1,000 cash prize from the line.
