NORWICH – Long days and warm weather in the late summer equal band camp for the proud members of the Norwich High School Purple Tornado Band.

Rehearsals for the half-time football game shows and band competitions are well underway in the field behind the school, with marching and music beginning at 1 in the afternoon and continuing through 9 p.m. with just a short hour break for dinner.

The camaraderie shared will be displayed at 7 p.m. Saturday as a fundraiser for the Tornado’s trip to Boston this school year gets underway. Band parents, families and community supporters are invited to the field for a show by the Brigadiers, a drum and bugle corps, and special guest, the Inbhear Mór Marchers, a 45-piece marching show band from Ireland. General admission is $10; gates open at 6 p.m.

“We are thrilled that the Irish band chose Norwich as one of their 13 destinations on their first ever tour of the U.S.,” said Norwich Band Parents Association volunteer Maggie De Tomi.