The Gaffney High School Band of Gold will visit Florida for a 4-day weekend business trip with a little Disney and magic added to the mix on the way home.

After performing for Gaffney's home football game against Spartanburg (Nov. 3), Band of Gold members will meet back at their band room and leave early Saturday morning for a marching band competition that evening at 6 p.m. hosted by Lakewood Ranch High School in Bradenton, Fla.

Band members will spend time over the next two days in Orlando seeing The Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World, and a Spectramagic show before arriving home on election day morning (Nov. 7).

Gaffney High Band Director Jeff Kuntz spent 11 years working as a band director at Clearwater and Osceola high schools in Florida. Now his band students in Gaffney will get a chance to pick up new ideas and perform in front of Florida marching bands.

"A high school marching band can enter a contest anywhere in the country if they are willing to travel. This is a marching band performance trip for our students to a local contest in Florida," Kuntz said. "We are really excited to have this opportunity. This will be a great learning experience for our students."

The Gaffney High band members will not miss any classes during the trip. The school district has a staff development day Monday, Nov. 6, while Tuesday, Nov. 7 is a school holiday because of the election day.

This year's Gaffney High Band of Gold is performing a Beatles show featuring the songs "A Hard Day's Night," "Hey Jude," "Yesterday" and "Eleanor Rigby."

Gaffney opened its marching band season Sept. 30 with a second-place finish in their class at the Boiling Springs Festival of Bands. The band received awards for best horn line and Color Guard.

The Band of Gold followed that performance with a first-place finish Oct. 7 at the Chesnee Eagle Classic. In Chesnee, the band received awards for best Color Guard and drum line.

Kuntz looks forward to seeing the Band of Gold perform this Saturday at Olympic High School in Charlotte before the big trip to Florida.

"The kids have improved greatly since band camp in July," Kuntz said. "There is a great advantage to traveling over a 4-day weekend because students will not miss any school."