The marching band rehearses during class on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:00 to 6:30 pm. There are a few Saturday rehearsals that are held from 9 am to 4 pm, with an hour lunch break. Please see the full RV instrumental music calendar for those dates.

The marching band plays at Ralston Valley's home football games, which take place at the NAAC (North Area Athletic Complex). The NAAC is located at 19500 W. 64th Parkway, Arvada, CO 80403 (near the intersection of 64th Ave and Hwy 93). The band performs the National Anthem before the game, plays pep band music in the stands during the first, second, and fourth quarters, and peforms their halftime show. 

The band will meet at RV, then ride the bus TO and FROM the football game; please arrange transportation for your student to/from Ralston Valley. The music boosters do NOT provide a meal on football game days, so please have your student make arrangements to eat before/after the game. They may also bring a snack and/or money for the concession stand during the 3rd quarter when they have a break. 

We typically need volunteers for football games, including a couple of trailer drivers, as well as help with pit/props and uniforms. 

For more information, please see the Home Football Games page. 

The Marching Band performs in numerous competitions throughout the Fall, and all are mandatory. The competitions take up a good portion of the day or afternoon/evening. Check the RVMB website and CutTime messages frequently for details, schedules, maps, volunteer needs, and more! Detailed schedules for competition days often do not come out until the week of the competition, so please be prepared to be flexible on these days. Transportation is provided TO and FROM the competitions, so please arrange transportation for your student to/from RV. Drop-off and pick-up times at RV vary depending on the time of the event and can be unpredictable.

Competitions may be a one-and-done format or a prelims/finals format. There is typically an admission fee for spectators. Sometimes there is one fee for prelims and another fee for finals (or a discounted rate for both). We can never make guarantees about whether our band will make finals, so the choice to buy a combo ticket is yours. Some competitions have concessions available. In the past, some competitions have accepted cash only, some credit cards only, and some both. We will communicate as much information as we have available for each competition as it approaches.

When the Marching Band has a long event and/or it goes over one or more mealtimes, the Music Boosters will provide a meal (some days more than one). The Boosters typically provide the main course and ask parents to donate the fruits, veggies, desserts, and extras. These details will also be communicated through CutTime as each event approaches.

We need a lot of volunteers to help make our Marching Band program successful! For each competition, we typically need 2-3 trailer drivers, 2-3 uniform helpers, 5-8 hospitality helpers, and up to 25 people for the pit/props crew. Some of this help is before/after the events, some during, some on the field, and some behind the scenes. Please be watching for the specifics for each event.  We use SignUp Genius to ensure these events run smoothly and that all our “jobs” are covered.

Please note that on competition days, last-minute changes may occur. In such cases, Ms. Watts will ask the kids to send parents a text message with updates.

RV Marching Band is attending the following festivals/competitions in 2025:

Sept. 13: Jeffco Marching Festival at Jeffco Stadium

Sept. 20: Fossil Ridge Marching Festival

Sept. 27: Friendship Cup at Eaton HS
Oct. 4: Big Cat Marching Invitational (prelims only)
Oct. 16: Regional Marching Band Competition
Oct. 24 - 25: State Marching Band Competition at USAF (Hopefully!)

Every fall, shortly after school starts, the Marching Band participates in a “retreat” – Band Camp at the YMCA of the Rockies (Snow Mountain Ranch in Granby, Colorado). The students miss classes for this retreat; Ms. Watts submits a pre-arranged absence form on their behalf. Band Camp is usually held from Thursday to Saturday. **Please note: For 2025, Band Camp is being held Wednesday through Friday, September 10 - 12.** The students should bring all of their luggage to the band room before school on the day of departure. After school, they will load up the trailers/buses, depart for the mountains, and work hard on putting the finishing touches on their show. They will also have plenty of fun and bonding time with the band! There is a $250 student fee for band camp, payable through the Jeffco Student Fee website, since it is a district-sponsored trip. 

We typically need 2-3 volunteers for this event (trailer drivers and chaperones); these individuals are invited to stay at the YMCA during band camp (room & board is covered for volunteers). There is typically plenty of free time for the volunteers to work remotely or enjoy the Colorado outdoors!