Van Buren High School claimed the grand champion title at the 12th annual Branson Marching Invitational, hosted by Branson High School on Saturday, October 10, according to the Branson Tri-Lakes News. The event drew two dozen school ensembles from across Missouri, with twelve advancing to open-class finals competition.
The Branson Tri-Lakes News reported that Van Buren placed first overall with a score of 87.350 out of 100, also earning caption awards for outstanding music, outstanding visual, outstanding general effect, and outstanding auxiliary. Camdenton placed second with 85.550, and Kickapoo took third with 84.763 points. Willard finished fifth but won the caption award for outstanding percussion during its finals performance.
Participating bands competed across five classifications, including Strafford, Houston, Forsyth, Ava and Aurora in Class 1A; Seneca, Hollister, Hillcrest and Reeds Spring in Class 2A; Lafayette, Windsor, Marshfield, Grandview, Seckman and Harrison in Class 3A; Willard, Mountain Home, Camdenton and Logan-Rogersville in Class 4A; and Rolla, Kickapoo, Waynesville, Ozark and Van Buren in Class 5A.
Branson performed an exhibition of its 2026 show titled ‘Photosynthesis’ before preliminary awards were announced. The competition, now run entirely in-house by the Pride of Branson Band and Branson High School, began as a US Bands sponsored event. A Pride of Branson Band representative congratulated all participating bands and invited them to next year’s 13th annual invitational.
For more information, visit bransontrilakesnews.com.