The Busy Bee Band & Honeybees will be attending the season opener for the East Fairmont Bees. The Bees are coming off a historic 2007 run that saw them make it to the semifinals against St. Albans. The 2007 squad saw the first playoff victories in East Fairmont High School football history. The 2008 campaign begins on Friday, August 29th at Wimer Field against the Elkins Tigers. Directions to Wimer Field

• 2008 Band Performance Schedule
• 2008 Member Roster
• 2008 East Fairmont Football

On April 3, 2008, the Busy Bee Band & Honeybees opened Follies 2008 to a sold-out audience at the East Fairmont High School Auditorium. Follies 2008 marked the 36th Annual Production of spring tradition . The show started with the band playing the opening fanfare from "That's Entertainment" followed by "There's No Business Like Show Business" and "Comedy Tonight." The Honeybees were then featured during "Riffin' the Blues." The Opening Overture ended with a reprise of "Comedy Tonight" and "Everything's Coming Up Roses." Follies 2008 Highlights

DAY ONE PICTURES | DAY TWO PICTURES | DAY THREE PICTURES

Featured Videos on Banddirector.com from aboard the Fascination and On-Shore

The Busy Bee Band & Honeybees departed the Port of Miami on Friday around 4:30 p.m. for Nassau in the Bahamas. Following a brief overview of safety procedures, the Carnival Cruiser Fascination set sail with the 180-member band aboard. On Saturday, the group performed a stand-up show at Rawson Square which literally shut down streets in Nassua. During the performance, the band exchanged proclamations from West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin and the Bahamas Minister of Tourism. The band paraded back to port following the performance. Saturday afternoon, the group went to Paradise Island, which is famous for the Atlantis Hotel Complex. There, the band spent a few hours at the beach before a quick shopping spree in Nassau.

Busy Bee Band & Honeybees perform at Rawson Square in Nassau, Bahamas

2007 Field Show Highlights

The 2007 Field Show season has wound to a close following a historical run by the East Fairmont football team. Despite a magnificent defensive effort that saw the Bees hold St. Albans to 14 points, the Bees were unable to score late and lost to the Red Dragons 14-12 in the 3rd Round of the State Playoffs. Performances included the Fairmont Senior, Morgantown and Peters Township Band Festivals along with trips to University, George Washington and St. Albans. Full Story

Band Photos from East Fairmont/Saint Albans Game
Band Pictures from East Fairmont/George Washington Game
East Fairmont Football Information

The Busy Bee Band & Honeybees perform at Laidley Field in Charleston, West Virginia during the East Fairmont - George Washington Playoff Game.

Band Leaves Impression in Southern West Virginia
The Busy Bee Band & Honeybees left quite an impression on many in Charleston during the East Fairmont / George Washington game and on Hurricane fans who traveled to East-West Stadium for the East Fairmont / Hurricane Game. The performance at Laidley Field was the first field show performance for the group in Charleston since 1992. Here are a few of the comments the band has received:

"I just wanted to let you and your band memebers know how impressed I was with your bands performance at Laidley Field during the half-time of your most recent playoff game. As impressed as I was with your football team, the band just blew me away. Your school and community have something to be really proud of. My wife and I will be attending your next game at St. Albans, mainly so my wife can see your performance at half-time. Keep up the good work."

"Your band is one of the best, if not the best HS bands, I have ever seen. Watched your football team beat GW and when I walked into Laidley Field that night the first thing I saw was the size of your band standing in the stands. Your participation during the game and your halftime performance was great. You remind me of a smaller version of the WVU band. Your band and the Honeybees are awesome. Your school, from what I witnessed, has alot of School Spirit. I am very glad I attended that football game. Thank you Fairmont East."

"I went to Laidley Field Friday nite to watch a high school football game and ended up seeeing the MOST AWESOME high school band I've EVER seen!!! GREAT SHOW!!!! WOW!!! 1st Class school, 1st Class band. You were the highlight of the evening for EVERYONE on BOTH sides of the field. Keep up the great work, you'all are AWESOME!!!"

"Really enjoyed the show last Saturday! As a past majorette, I especially enjoyed your drill team/majorettes. I loved their uniformity/presence. I could easily tell that the members of the band are very well respected from the other students of the school. Congratulations and good luck in the future!!"

and from Rich Stevens at the Charleston Daily Mail:

At halftime of the GW-East Fairmont quarterfinal game, I went to my car to listen to the radio and get scores from other games. Unfortunately they never came and, what's more, I missed the halftime show put on by the East Fairmont band. When I returned, everyone raved about the performance put on by the band. Halftime is usually reserved for trips to the restroom and concession stand — usually in that order. All I got to see was the band lined up in the next-to-last section of the visitors' side near at Laidley Field, lined up uniformly and playing sometimes between plays. I was impressed enough by that, but when I had everybody gushing about the halftime performance, I realized I should've stayed. Chalk one up for the Bees band. It gives me a renewed respect for high school bands.

Visit the Guestbook or e-mail busy.bee.band@gmail.com if you would like to leave comments for the band.

The East Fairmont football team celebrates their victory over Hurricane in the first round of the state playoffs with the Busy Bee Band & Honeybees at East/West Stadium.

Busy Bee Band & Polar Bear Band Join in Pre-Game

The Busy Bee Band & Honeybees of East Fairmont joined the Polar Bear Band of Fairmont Senior for pre-game at the 87th Annual East-West Game to honor veterans of all branches of service. The combined bands joined to play "Armed Forces Salute," which is a medley that contains the official song for each branch. The groups then joined together to play the "Star Spangled Banner" as a large flag stretching from the 30-yard line to the 30-yard line was held by members of each organization. Both groups performed their individual shows at halftime. Pictures

East Fairmont and Fairmont Senior high school bands presented a combined patriotic program before Friday's East­West game during wich veterans from all branches of service were honored

Annual Busy Bee Band Ad Page in Times-West Virginian

The Annual Busy Bee Band & Honeybees "Ad Page" appeared in the Times-West Virginian on Friday, November 2. This year's page highlights the band's trip to Norfolk, Virginia and their appearance in the 54th International Azalea Festival "Parade of Nations" where the group was named "Grand Champions." The band also won First Place for Music Performance, Marching & Maneuvering and Field Commander from the 17 group field.

Ad Page - Page One	Ad Page - Page Two

The Ad Page is an annual insert in the Time-West Virginian that traditionally appears on the day of the East/West Game and highlights accomplishments of the Busy Bee Band & Honeybees from the preceding and current year. Individuals and businesses purchase "ads" for the page which supports the band organization. The Ad Page has been a major fundraiser for the Busy Bee Band & Honeybees for serveral years. You can download the full pages in PDF form here:

• Ad Page - Page One (5.26 MB)
• Ad Page - Page Two (4.10 MB)

Recent Performances

• Friday, November 16, 2007, 7:30 p.m., East Fairmont v. George Washington High School @ Laidley Field in Charleston, WV
• Saturday, November 10, 2007, 1:30 p.m., East Fairmont v. Hurricane High School @ East/West Stadium (State Playoffs)
• Friday, November 2, 2007, 7:30 p.m., East Fairmont v. Fairmont Senior High School @ East/West Stadium

This year's field show includes The Jacksons' hit "Can You Feel It," along with "Turn the Beat Around," "Power Station" and "Flashdance (What a Feeling)". The Honeybees traditional kickline is to the swing number "Dreamsville Rock." Pictures

Fall Performance Schedule | Member Roster

Upcoming Band Performances:

• Wednesday, February 6, 2008, 7:30 p.m., EFHS Basketball vs. North Marion High School at East Fairmont High School Gymnasium

The Busy Bee Band & Honeybees perform at the 2007 Morgantown Band Spectacular.

John Veasey - Times-West Virginian: The Busy Bee Band Boosters have provided a major boost to the East-West Stadium turf project. Last Thursday they presented a check to Dr. James B. Phares, superintendent of Marion County Schools, in the amount of $12,000 to support the turf project. The presentation followed a three-week fundraising cam­paign by the Busy Bee Band & Honeybees to sell ceramic tiles for the main entrance Tunnel at East-West Stadium. Each tile depicts the official logo of the band along with the individual's name and graduating class year at a cost of $50. Full Story | Tile the Tunnel Order Form

Pictured in front of the first 164 “Busy Bee Band Tiles” placed on the tunnel wall at East-West Stadium are Frank Moore, FAAdirector; Dr. James Phares, superintendent of schools; Jim Wilson, Busy Bee Band Booster president; and David Nuzum, EFHS principal.

Highlights from New York City and the 2006 Field Show from Follies 2007 have been added to the Multimedia Library. Additionally, the 2006 field show from the Thomas Jefferson High School Band Spectacular and the 2005 field show from the Morgantown High School Band Spectacular have been uploaded in full to YouTube and can be found on the Multimedia page. Stay tuned as we continue to add video of the band from past years and, soon, from this year. Multimedia Library

Featured Video

This week's featured video is from October 26, 1986. Queen Bee Janell Griffith Joseph leads the Busy Bee Band & Honeybees at Three Rivers Stadium as the Steelers hosted the Cincinnati Bengals. Songs include "All I Need Is A Miracle," "Broadway" and "Jellicle Ball" from the musical Cats.

To see additional videos, you can visit the Busy Bee Band & Honeybees Channel on YouTube. Or, if you would like to be notified when new videos are added to the site, you can create a membership on YouTube and subscribe to the Busy Bee Band & Honeybees Channel.

The Busy Bee Band & Honeybees returned Sunday night from Norfolk, Virginia where they participated in the 54th International Azalea Festival. Seventeen high school bands representing six states participated in the event. The Busy Bee Band & Honeybees were awarded Best Overall Marching, Best Overall Music and Queen Bee Meghan Kinty was awarded Best Drum Major. The group was presented as Grand Champions of the Parade of Nations, winning a gold medal representing a rating in the 90th percentile based on a national grading scale. Full Story

The Busy Bee Band & Honeybees march in the 54th International Azalea Festival Parade of Nations

The Busy Bee Band from East Fairmont High School is sharing the “New York Experience” with schools throughout North America. Members of the Busy Bee Band are pictured marching down Seventh Avenue in New York last May when the band visited Rockefeller Center and also the USS Intrepid. The picture is on the cover of the March issue of Student & Youth Traveler.

“This magazine goes to 35,000 schools in North America, and we were just fortunate enough to get on the cover,” Director Earl W. McConnell said — beaming with pride as he displayed the magazine cover. Full Story

Follies 2007 concluded on Sunday, April 1st following a four-night run that saw an audience of over 3,000. This year marked the 35th Annual Follies presented by the Busy Bee Band & Honeybees. The show is one of the longest running high school productions in the State of West Virginia and annually attracts over 3,000 patrons to the East Fairmont High School Auditorium. Follies 2007 includes highlights from the movies "The Patriot," "Pink Panther," and "Pirates of the Caribbean" along with the music of West Side Story. The Honeybees are featured in several dance numbers, including the traditional Honeybee kickline to the Mack Gordon standard "You Make Me Feel So Young." Follies 2007 Highlights

Busy Bee Band Percussion featured during "Overture to the '90s."

The Busy Bee Band & Honeybees have returned from a very successful trip to New York City. While there, the group paraded through the streets of New York before performing in the Plaza at Rockefeller Center. They also performed on the deck of the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Intrepid. The group attended "The Lion King" Saturday night and spent most of Sunday site-seeing around the city. Full Story & Pictures

The Busy Bee Band & Honeybees perform at the Plaza at Rockefeller Center. Following the performance, the band traveled to the new "Top of the Rock."

The Busy Bee Band & Honeybees concluded the 2006 field show season following the East Fairmont football team's first playoff appearance in 30 years at Robert C. Byrd. The 2006 season included performances at the Thomas Jefferson Band Festival in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania following an award-winning performance at the Pittsburgh Columbus Day Parade. Other events included the Morgantown High School Band Spectacular at Mountaineer Field and the Fairmont Senior High School Band Spectacular at East/West Stadium addition to performing at all home East Fairmont football games and at Elkins. The 2006-2007 season concluded with Follies 2007 in April and the group's award-winning trip to Norfolk, Virginia for the 54th Annual International Azalea Festival. Full Story

• 2006 - 2007 Performance Schedule & Highlights
• 2006 - 2007 Band Roster

Governor Joe Manchin with Queen Bee Meghan Kinty and the Busy Bee Band & Honeybees at the recent announcement of the Volcano Island Resort project.

Busy Bee Band Wins Awards in Pittsburgh

The Busy Bee Band & Honeybees won 1st place for Best Marching Unit along with 1st place for Best Drum Major at the Pittsburgh Columbus Day Parade on Saturday, October 7th. The group received a perfect rating for music from the panel of 3 judges and Queen Bee Meghan Kinty was honored as the best Drum Major in the parade.

Busy Bee Band & Honeybees perform at the 2006 Thomas Jefferson Band Festival

Following the parade, the group traveled to South Hills Village Mall for dinner before participating in the Thomas Jefferson Band Festival at Thomas Jefferson High School. The group would like to thank Thomas Jefferson for their hospitality during our visit.

• Thomas Jefferson Band Web-Site
• Bands get a day in the limelight - Article from Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about Pittsburgh Band Spectacular (East Fairmont mentioned towards bottom)