Sahuaro Winterguard is back for its second season, and this time, they get to represent only Sahuaro. Last year, Sahuaro students had the pleasure of working with Cholla and Pueblo in a combined group called Santa Cruz Winterguard.
Though it was an honor to compete in a united winterguard season and gain experience from programs that had many years under their belts, the trip to Cholla High School every Tuesday and Saturday for rehearsal put a lot of weight on the Sahuaro students. Oftentimes, these students would have to get on a bus right after school with no time for homework or chores. This year, Sahauro students get to stay in their backyard.
With this newfound freedom, now was the time to recruit. From the Marching Band and Colorguard, there were originally only three people who joined. Knowing that we need at least five to perform, these students knew that they needed to get their numbers up before even thinking about starting the season. Fortunately, now the group has five members, which is the minimum to perform. Even though it’s not as big as they’d hoped, they’re mostly just glad they get to compete.
“I was a little nervous to see if we could make it as an independent group because not a lot of people know what Winterguard is.” Colorguard captain Madi Jordan expressed. Another one of the Winterguard performers said, “I was very nervous when I found out we may not have enough people.”
The 2026 Winterguard program is called Dine With Me, and takes place in a 1950’s diner. The story starts with two performers, Quentin and Sarah, walking up to their table and ordering from one of the waitresses, Madi. Though these two are supposed to be on a date, the male lead starts to get distracted by the waitresses.
But in the end, the other waitresses do not matter, and he goes to join Sarah either way. Even though he continues to be taunted by the waitresses, in the end, he leads his date back to the table. In the last part of the show, the two try to go in for a kiss but are interrupted by the petty waitress bringing their food.
Madi Jordan likes how the storyline progresses because, “…you don’t typically see shows like ours.” Which may be one of the reasons that the judges like their show more. Sophia Knepp said, “The direction that the show takes is really good, it catches people’s attention, and there’s a little bit of drama but has a happy ending.”
With this energetic program and even more energetic performers, this show brings to life the work of these students and represents everything they’ve been working on. Showing that even though there are challenges throughout the seasons and the work becomes hard, they always return to the goal at hand: the performance.
