BUCKHANNON – The World Association of Marching Show Bands Championship will bring 32 nations to Buckhannon July 17-24.

At its July 6 meeting, Buckhannon City Council commended city recorder and president of the WAMSB Buckhannon Host Committee President Randy Sanders, for all his work to bring the 2023 championship event to Buckhannon.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity — this will never be here again, at least in our lifetimes,” Mayor Robbie Skinner said. “I want to thank Mr. Sanders very much for putting this together and working so hard, and it’s coming together very nicely, even with a few hiccups along the way. Randy has spearheaded something that has never been here before and has done a great job with it, and I thank you very much for all the time and dedication you’ve put in.”

Sanders said the event will be the culmination of two-and-a-half years of planning.

“Thanks, Mr. Mayor and thanks to council for your initiative and for approving this adventure,” Sanders said. “Thanks to our city employees, who stepped up in force to prepare for not only this event, but we had three other events in our community; we had the Strawberry Festival, which was wonderful, and it’s a large reason why we won the bid to host the World Association of Marching Show Bands, and I never want to forget that.”

Sanders encouraged the community to support the event by purchasing tickets for the various upcoming events.

“The opening ceremonies will feature Lee Greenwood, and the closing ceremonies will feature the United States Marine Drum and Bugle Corps, and we’re going to have a glorious fireworks presentation for the first time on the campus of Wesleyan College,” Sanders said. “Please support us in that effort.”

A full list of events, tickets and ticket packages may be found on the official WAMSB website, including the various competitions, a car show, a parade, entertainment and a carnival.

“Our website will be updated quite a bit between now and the finals, so join us for as many activities as possible,” Sanders said. “Gambill’s [Amusement Co.] will be opening their carnival Tuesday night, and they’ll be there through Saturday night. We will have an array of vendors and I believe half of them are new to the area. We tried to just shake it up a little bit and bring some new vendors in.”

Bands have been booked to perform at Jawbone Park Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Additionally, Main Street will be closed Friday night to host a “Music on Main” celebration.

Councilwoman Pam Bucklew urged residents to treat all visitors with dignity and respect.

“Everybody needs very respectful and welcoming to all the people who are coming to this city,” Bucklew said. “Treat them the way you would want to be treated if you went to their country. Just have a good time, be neighborly to everybody and be respectful.”

Skinner agreed with Bucklew and reiterated how important this event is to the Buckhannon community.

“I echo what Pam said: I hope everybody is very welcoming and hospitable to our guests that will be joining us this month,” Skinner said. “This is a wonderful community. West Virginia has a long legacy of being a very hospitable state. We want you to enjoy your time in our home among the hills, and I hope that is extended to our friends coming to us from around the world.”

A press release listing the road and traffic changes can be found here.