The Georges P. Vanier band had the opportunity, in late April, to attend a prestigous music festival in British Columbia. Band teacher Pam Heckbert and 60 students in Grades 8-12 attended the Kiwanis Festival in Richmond during April 20-24. Seventy-five bands from across western Canada and the U.S. participated in the festival. The GPV band performed in 45-minute session with a clinician. They also had a session with Jim Tempest, a Royal Canadian Artillery Director of Music. Tempest worked with them on jazz selections and other repertoire. They also performed at Dixon Elementary in Richmond. The band came home with a silver rating. Heckbert hopes the students enjoyed participating in this very prestigous event. Heckbert also hopes they appreciate that they can compete on a grand scale.