Annandale High School band members seek community support on Tag Day

The Annandale High School marching band. [Band Boosters]

Tag Day, the annual fundraising event for the Annandale High School band programs, is this Saturday, Sept. 11. 

As COVID-19 has upended so many things, it’s also having an impact on Tag Day. Instead of knocking on doors to ask neighbors for donations, band members will hang a flyer on doors with information on how to contribute. 

Donations help fund everything the bands need that is not covered by the county budget, such as uniforms, instruments, and specialized instruction, says Rita Inkpen, co-president of the AHS Band Boosters. 

Residents can contribute online or send a check to the AHS Band Boosters, P.O. Box 1231 Annandale VA 22003 (payable to AHSBB). Donations are tax deductible. 

Community support for the bands is especially critical this year, as the Band Boosters were unable to have Tag Day or other fundraising activities last year due to the pandemic, Inkpen says. 

Band students also didn’t get to have concerts or outdoor classes because the band director, Joe Witkowski, was on long-term disability and missed the majority of the year. Other schools shifted marching band to the spring, but AHS couldn’t do that because the substitute band director didn’t have any experience with marching bands.

“Last year was really rough, with COVID and the band director out,” Inkpen says. Now that there’s a new band director, Tyron Barnes, and students are back in class, things are looking up. “This will be a year of rebuilding.”