North Lincoln band seeks uniforms through sweets
Article Published by: lakenormanpublications.com
Moravian cookies will provide the North Lincoln High School marching band a wardrobe change.
The school’s Band of Knights is raising money to pay for new uniforms to replace ones they have used since the school’s opening in 2003. Parents and members of the North Lincoln Band Boosters organization will be manning a temporary Dewey’s Bakery shop Nov. 16-Dec. 23 at Westport Plaza.
Over the last 12 years, hundreds of students have been using the current uniforms to compete in, and they are no longer holding up – in both fashion and function.
“The uniforms are an older design,” said band director Kevin Still, who started at North Lincoln in August after coming from West Stanley High School. “In the early 2000s there was a change in how uniforms were constructed. Ours are not not form-fitting. Ones made now are sleeker and designed with athletic abilities in mind.”
Since the marching band program receives no funding from the school system, its relies on fundraising events to cover the budget and, this year, $40,000 for new uniforms. About $20,000 has already been raised by efforts, included holding a “Spirit Night” at both Showmars and Zaxby’s.
Amy Fesmire is one of the parents who will be at the pop-up Dewey’s location with the boosters’ treasurer Tina Vargas.
“We sent out sign-ups, and I will be there everyday,” said Fesmire, whose son, Joshua, plays the trumpet. “We got very lucky when we finally found a storefront.”
Fesmire said the location was provided with the building owners’ assistance in honor of his late wife.
The legenday Dewey’s Bakery in Winston-Salem, known for its Moravian cookies and other baked goods, has set up multiple temporary locations in the Lake Norman area in previous years, including at Birkdale Village in Huntersville, but the post at 1901 N. N.C. 16 Business will be the only one in the region this year.
The current uniforms, worn by the band’s 122 marching members, feature black tops and pants, with a broad royal blue sash and blue-and-white plume.
“It’s a sense of identity – it identifies the band,” Still said of the band uniform. “Groups will be identified based on uniform, just like the football team. It’s a not right, but a privilege to wear it.”
One of the band’s primary fundraisers is the Roundtable band competition, but rain from Hurricane Joaquin caused the event to be canceled. The Band of Knights invited 14 bands to be judged and typically runs concessions from noon to 11 p.m., Fesmire said.
“We wanted to host inside, but the school board said we couldn’t do it,” she said.
Once the money is raised, the privileged students in the band will put on a black top with grey along the shoulders and light blue stripes across the chest. On their heads will be a silver hat with a blue stripe above the brim and a dark grey plume.
Still said he wants to order them in February so they arrive in late May or early June.
“People who do seamstress work on the uniforms say they can’t do much,” Fesmire said. “We were in a competition in Raleigh and one of the kids came up to me and said ‘you’re going to have to sew my pants up again.’”
“It’s time for new ones to come,” he said.
Dewey’s Bakery, started in 1930, also sells cupcakes, coffee cakes and ice cream from Blue Ridge Ice Cream. The Band of Knights will receive shipments of the baked goods prepackaged every week of their fundraiser.
“We rely on the community for support,” Still said, who hasn’t tried anything from Dewey’s, but “heard they are delicious.”
About Scott Livengood
Scott Livengood is the owner and CEO of Dewey’s Bakery, Inc., a commercial wholesale bakery with a respected national brand of ultra premium cookies and crackers.
Previously, Scott worked at Krispy Kreme Doughnuts for 27 years, starting as a trainee in 1977. He was appointed President of the company in 1992, then CEO and Chairman of the Board.
Scott has served on numerous boards including the Carter Center, the Calloway School of Business and the Babcock School of Management, Habitat for Humanity of Forsyth County, and the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce.
He started a new business, StoryWork International, in 2016 with Richard Stone. The signature achievement to date is LivingStories, a story-based program for improved patient experiences and outcomes in partnership with Novant Health.
