The 35th annual Perry Band Olympics were held all day Saturday, and nearly 2,000 people descended on Perry High School to watch and take part.

Band Director Brad Sparks said there were over 900 individual entries from 10 different schools who performed between 7 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Sparks says the event has become a favorite destination for band directors around the state, thanks to the quality of judges the festival attracts every year. He also says it’s a good primer for the state solo and ensemble competition held in the spring. His own band members also performed at the contest, in addition to helping host the event. Sparks said he was pleased with how everything turned out, and believed the attendees felt the same way. “I think the kids did a great job, at least all of our Perry kids that I’ve talked to were pretty happy with their performances. From what I’ve talked to other directors and stuff, it sounds like they were pretty happy with all of their students’ performances as well. So (I’ll) call this one a success!”

Following the performances, all the attendees gathered in the high school gymnasium for the awards presentation. Before handing out the medals and trophies, Sparks gave special thanks to Jerry Kinney, the creator of the event, and Steve Cook, who kept it going for 30 years. Each of them received an honorary plaque for their work. As for the awards, the overall champion trophy was given to Dowling Catholic High School.