Over the summer, junior Zaid Gratz travelled with the Colt Cadets, the junior organization of the Colts.

The Colt Cadets spent 38 days on the road this summer, performing at parades and competitions for a total estimated audience of over 75,000 people.

“It’s an open class course so anyone can get in. If they audition you, it would be to see where your skill level is at. Their purpose is getting you ready to play for the Colts,” Gratz said.

While the corps itself is based in Iowa, its participants come from around the world.

“We had people in our Corps from the Netherlands, which was really neat,” Gratz said.

Gratz has many favorite memories from the event.

“Many people in the Corps dislike Kansas because the weather is so unpredictable. There are three of us in the Corps from Kansas and we kept telling them that the weather is not that bad. When we arrived it started raining while it was completely sunny, so it was super humid the whole day,” Gratz said.

In addition, Gratz also enjoyed performing for his family and friends when the corps came to Kansas.

Preparing for the show took many long days of practice.

“Practices were all day. We would wake up at 8:00 a.m. and have an hour to get ready, which includes breakfast. Then at 9:00 a.m. we do calisthenics, which ranges from stretches to cardio,” Gratz said. “From 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. we practice in sections. 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. is a break for lunch. 1:00 to 5:00 is an additional sectional, followed by another hour-long break. From 6:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. is a group practice where all the groups come together and practice. Midnight is lights out.”

Each years’ show has new theme with music and sets to fit to it.

“Our show theme was Fire and Ice, which was based off of Robert Frost’s poem Fire and Ice. We actually had a narration in our show of the poem,” Gratz said.

The Colt Cadets also beat some personal records, such as beating the team they lost to previously.

Overall, the experience was, “expensive but so worth it,” Gratz said.

For the past few weeks, sophomore Mariah Grizzle has been preparing to perform in her first pageant.

Grizzle was first introduced to pageants by her sister, who spontaneously signed her up for the Miss Teen Kansas pageant in Wichita.

“I’m not sure why she signed me up for it, she just did,” Grizzle said. “I’m excited to dress up. I like wearing heels and girly things.”

Grizzle’s friend, Mill Valley High School sophomore Abby Sutton, is also involved in pageants, and has given her advice about the pageant as well as sharing memories she’s made in them.

“She said it’s fun meeting people in them and the environment around it is fun,” Grizzle said.

Grizzle is looking forward to the competitiveness of pageants.

“I’m very competitive,” Grizzle said. “I’m not sure I’m going to win. It would be good to put in a resume, that I participated in it.”

The pageant will take place in Wichita on Nov. 28-30.