NORWICH – Hundreds will file into the Norwich High School football stadium this weekend to cheer on the Purple Tornado Field Band as the group plays host to the 39th annual Fall Festival of the Bands.

The yearly competition gets underway Saturday. Gates open at 5:30 p.m. and the first band takes the field at 6:30. Seven bands will perform their own variations of music and adapted routines, all of them vying for the number one spot of best overall performance. The Purple Tornado Field Band has exhausted more than 150 hours of practice since the latter part of summer, hoping that this year’s routine entitled, “Believe” – inspired by the 2004 film “The Polar Express” – earns them top honors. It will be the group’s final performance before competing at the Syracuse Carrier Dome on Oct. 28.

According to band director Jamie Carrier, now in her second year conducting the Purple Tornado Field Band, this year’s performance is a strong improvement over last year, when they placed second in the small school, division two category just behind Johnson City School during the Fall Festival.

Thus far, the band has proven to be a viable competitor, taking second place after their first competition in Baldwinsville, and second place by only a tenth of one point two weeks ago in Vestal. The group has taken first at competitions at Corning East, Auburn and Mohonasen.