The Docksiders, Gloucester High School's student jazz band, have traveled to Walt Disney resorts three times in the past five years to perform during April vacation.
But coming Saturday, Dec. 12, the Docksiders will be bringing some of the Disney magic — and some of the world's most beloved characters — to Gloucester, as the band prepares for a spring concert trip to Hawaii.
The band will be hosting a breakfast with authentic, visiting Disney characters at the Kyrouz Auditorium at City Hall from 9 a.m. to noon to raise money for the band's trip to Hawaii. Admission is $10 per person and children under 2 are free.
Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Winnie the Pooh, Tiger and Chip and Dale are some of the characters expected to make an appearance at this event.
"They are the real deal," said David Adams, the band director. "It is really something to see."
The breakfast will be prepared by the school's culinary classes and the members of the school's drama program will be the ones acting in Disney character costumes. The Docksiders themselves will be performing some of their favorite jazz tunes to add to the environment.
The Docksiders go on a major performance tour about every two years and it takes about that amount of time to raise the money for the students to go, Adams said.
The Disney character breakfast is only one fundraiser in a series of events to raise money for the April vacation trip to Hawaii. It costs about $55,000 for the group to go; some $50,000 has been raised so far, Adams said.
"The objective is to make sure the students don't have to pay for the trip out of their own pockets," said Adams. "This (character breakfast) will put us pretty close or over the top."
Adams said the characters were secured by a member of the Band Parent Association and said they have permission to use the characters. He thought the breakfast would be a good way for the community to interact with the characters.
"It all kind of fell together," he said.
While in Hawaii, the 26 students that make up the advanced school band will perform at the Polynesian Cultural Center, the Hard Rock Cafe in Honolulu and aboard the USS Missouri stationed at Pearl Harbor.
"The students of the Docksiders have worked very hard for this trip in a down economy," Adams said.
Tickets for the Disney character breakfast can be purchased at Jeff's Variety on Eastern Avenue, Christine's Variety on Washington Street, or Virgilio's on Main Street --or by calling 978-281-4644.
Jonathan Phelps can be reached at 978-283-7000, x3447, or via e-mail at gt_reporter@gloucestertimes.com
NOTE: This is a corrected version of this story: In the initial version, the date was listed incorrectly. The correct date is Dec. 12, and tickets are available at the locations listed here.
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