Drum and bugle corps

More than 3,000 of the finest musical athletes will once again take the field at J. Birney Crum Stadium in Allentown for the DCI Eastern Classic Drum and Bugle Corps Championship Aug. 2-3, marking the event’s 43rd anniversary.

The DCI Eastern Classic will be the final major competition before the 2019 DCI World Championship, to be held at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind., capping off the 100-event national tour for Drum Corps International.

The seeding for the world championships will be determined in part by the scores achieved by each corps’ performance in Allentown.

Featured in the event will be the Lehigh Valley’s very own 10-time DCI World Champion Cadets, a program offering of Youth Education in the Arts (YEA!), which is based in downtown Allentown. The remaining competing groups represent 15 states.

The competition begins 6:30 p.m. Aug. 2 with 11 drum corps performing. The Aug. 3 event will also begin 6:30 p.m. with the remaining 12 units in the competition. Admission to the DCI Eastern Classic is $45, $35 and $30 in advance for each evening’s event and $52, $42 and $37 beginning Aug. 1.

Gates open 5 p.m. each day.

Tickets are available by calling 317-275-1212, ext. 3, or online at dci.org.