Trills & Thrills is the name of a music fest, and it refers to the two parts of the day: a band performance in the morning--the trills--and a visit to a nearby amusement park in the afternoon--the thrills.

Ayer Shirley Regional Middle School music teacher and band director Rachael Fletcher has been taking her students to this festival in Bristol, Conn., for several years.

"The Trills and Thrills Festival is an adjudicated band festival where the kids are graded according to a rubric by a judging panel and given pointers on how to improve themselves from year to year," explains Mrs. Fletcher.

Seventh-grade saxophone player Jake Miska's dad, Walter Miska, printed the maroon and white band T-shirts that the band wore with pride for their performance.

The band earned an "Excellent" award at the festival June 8 to add to the row of plaques that adorns the music room walls at ASRMS.

The afternoon was for thrills. The band and adventuresome parent chaperones rode the rides and ate amusement park food at Lake Compounce for several hours before heading home with their "Excellent" award.

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