Paddles dart in the air as parents aim to win the much awaited prizes of spa packages gift-cards and more. The band families turned out to support the James Bowie Outdoor Performing ensemble (JBOPE) and Color Guard, by playing an active role in fundraising.
On May 5, the Bowie Band hosted an auction event where students, parents, and directors came together to raise funds for the program’s needs, including new instruments, costumes, and travel expenses.
“Some of my favorite moments from the past auctions are just watching how excited the students are to bid on the experiences with the directors,” assistant director Tyler Jacks said. “Like going bowling with us or having a dinner party with us.”
The auction features various items such as gift cards, paddles, mystery boxes, and experiences like pizza parties with the directors, spa packages, and sporting events.
“Usually the items that end up getting the highest bids are the experiences with the directors, like going bowling or having a dinner party,” Jacks said. “Families can group up for those experiences and pitch in the money together, and I think those are the items that generate the most enthusiasm from the students.”
The auction is set up and run by the Bowie Band Parent Booster Organization, and the fundraising committee that exists within the organization. The directors are consulted to help establish the date of the event, however parents take on the main responsibilities of putting the event together.
“They look at what has been successful at raising money in the past and spend time thinking about what the community might be interested in or what opportunities might be new and exciting that would spark interest,” Jacks said.
The event took place during the spring show reveal, where the theme and title for the JBOPE 2025 performance was revealed. The auction, which features both live and silent options were held before the reveal.
“I’m really excited for the show and band season next year,” junior Zoe Moutard said. “I like that the band connects it to the auction to make it a fun environment for everyone.”
This auction is a yearly event for Bowie Band fundraising. The auction has grown over the years, and now offering a wide variety of prizes and raising more money than previous years. The event is available for participation by students, family members,
“The auction has raised money for us for several years now, and our community seems to enjoy the opportunity and finding ways to grow the event,” Jacks said. “We’ve continued to support this project as a critical part of our fundraising efforts that we undertake throughout the year.”
The funds that are raised by the auction event will go to the fundraising budget in the booster organization. This will support the band to cover additional costs that cannot be covered by Austin Independent School District
“Parents work really hard reaching out to companies, and donating things that can be provided for the auctions,” senior drum major Sophie Thollander said. “Before the auction is announced the parents reach out to everyone involved in band for things to auction off.”
Thollander’s family is especially involved in the auction, her family chose to provide a pool party for 12 to contribute to the prizes for the auction. These types of prizes are frequent within the prize list, families go above and beyond to contribute to the program.
“I’m always excited about seeing the ways our community comes out to support our students and the program as a whole,” Jacks said. “It was great to just see a big crowd of people ready to do whatever they could to help out in their own way.”
Part of the event was the Heads or Tails game. All players participating in the auction began standing, the band directors rolled the dice, either landing on band director Jennifer Hanford, or assistant director Tyler Jacks. Players held up their paddles, available for purchase from the booster committee, guessing which director the dice landed on. Those guessed correctly moved on to the next round, those incorrectly sat down. This game was played twice throughout the night.
“I only got to see a little of the game, but it looked super fun and everyone was hype,” Moutard said. “All of the prizes were really good and parents seemed to love them.”
The fundraising event was originally scheduled for May 2. However, due to weather conditions, Bowie canceled all after school events, resulting in the auction being delayed till Monday, May 5.
“The delay of the auction actually didn’t have a negative impact on our funds raised,” Jacks said.“We pivoted the live auction to an online platform and moved the silent auction to be in combination with our jazz and steel concert that was already scheduled a few days after the storm cancellation.”
The event is hosted every year, following the end of the Spring Camp, where the band welcomes incoming 9th graders to campus to introduce the following year’s marching production and music.
“Its fun to be part of a live auction,” Thollander said. “It’s more interesting and entertaining ten a silent auction, so I’m excited for that”
With there being over 38 available prizes and offers, many families went home with an item from the night.
“There were so many items, I didn’t realize how much the parents had done to get everything in order,” Moutard said. “I didn’t have a chance to participate in the auction but the events with the directors were really popular choices.”
