Lakewood Marching Festival

The 7th Annual Lakewood Marching Festival (formerly Big Cat) is hosted at the Jeffco Public Schools NAAC Stadium in Arvada on Saturday, October 3, 2026. This festival hosts up to 21 bands in preliminary competition and 12 bands for finals competition. This is a CBA Sanctioned Festival and follows all CBA rules and guidelines. Preliminary performance seeding is based on 2025 scores. Finals run in reverse order by placement during prelims. 

Parents are responsible for driving their student to and from the competition at the NAAC. Please try to set up carpools with other band families. 

We will need Pit/Props Volunteers, Uniform Helpers, Hospitality Servers, and food donations. Please click HERE to volunteer.

RV Competition Day Schedule:

11:00 a.m.: Students arrive at the NAAC

11:00 a.m.: Drop off food donations at the NAAC

11:30 a.m.: Pit/Props Volunteers and Uniform Helpers arrive at NAAC Stadium

1:30 p.m.: Prelims Performance 

~1:45 p.m.: Large snack

4:15 p.m.: Awards (prelims)

4:30 p.m.: Parents to pick up students at the NAAC (Only if we don't advance to finals)

Time TBD: Pit/Props Volunteers and Uniform/Water Helpers should arrive at the RV trailers ~1.5 hours before the Finals performance time

Time TBD: Finals Performance (We won't know if we will advance to finals or our exact performance time until after prelims awards are announced at 4:15 p.m.)  

Time TBD: Hospitality servers meet at the RV hospitality trailer immediately after the finals performance

Time TBD: Dinner

9:00 p.m.: Drum Major Retreat (finals)

10:00 p.m.: Parents to pick up students at the NAAC

Ticketing Information:

Tickets are available for advance purchase through Square. Tickets will also be available for sale at the gate. Cash and credit cards only. You can purchase advance tickets HERE. Prelims and finals tickets are sold separately! A prelims ticket will not allow admission into finals, and vice versa.

If you buy tickets in advance, please have your emailed receipt ready and proceed to the wristband line at the ticket booth. This will help ensure quick confirmation and will help get your wristbands to you faster. 

Ticket pricing is as follows:

Adults: $14

Children/Students (18 years of age or younger): $8

Seniors (65 years of age or older): $8

Children 5 and under: FREE 

Per CBA Rules, pit crew and prop volunteers will be required to have a Field Pass wristband for prelims/finals to enter the field and will be admitted to the FIELD ONLY. Pit crew and prop volunteers will not be admitted to the stands without a purchased attendance wristband.

Competition Schedule:

Parking and Other Details:

• Spectator parking is in the gravel lot west of the stadium.

• Concessions will be available. ONLY cash payments are accepted.

• There will be a festival merchandise table. Cash and credit card payments are accepted.

Detailed Maps for Pit/Props and Uniform Helpers: