Penn Manor Band Boosters are beating the drum for its bingo fundraiser.

Designer purses and Yeti tumblers filled with cash will be the big prizes when the club holds its second annual event Saturday, April 26, in the cafeteria of Penn Manor High School, 100 E. Cottage Ave., Millersville.

Doors will open at 11:30 a.m. The first game (early bird) will start at 1:45 p.m., with regular bingo starting at 2 p.m.

"It's a good time, and it supports our student musicians so that we can get them on the road," Penn Manor Band Boosters president Kirsten Ditzler said.

Bingo players can win purses designed by Michael Kors, Coach, and Loungefly. "The feedback we got from the first one from big bingo folks said it was a lot of fun and well-organized," said Ditzler. "We have some good prizes."

Tickets can be purchased at a discount in advance by going to https://pmmu.org up until the day before the event. Tickets will also be available at the door if they are not sold out. The inaugural event was a sellout. People can buy 20 regular games of bingo (three cards per game) or purchase a reserved table for six players that includes 20 regular games of bingo. 

Food will be for sale, including hot dogs, walking tacos, soft pretzels, and chips and salsa.

Ditzler said the fundraiser will benefit all the marching arts, including the marching band, which performs in the fall with a battery, front ensemble, and wind section, and the indoor percussion unit, which plays over the winter.

"With funds raised last year, we were able to offset a large portion of the costs accrued by supporting our marching unit and indoor percussion groups," said Ditzler. The marching band placed eighth in the Open Class National Championships for USBands at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey in November and is eyeing a return trip this season.

Ditzler added that Penn Manor Band Boosters also help fund drill writing (choreography), music writing, costumes, instrument repair, and color guard flags.

In addition to Ditzler, the board is made up of vice president Tammy Swift, secretary Stacy Nonnemacher, treasurer Matt Nonnemacher, and truck crew coordinator Jason Hunnell.

Competition days can be as long as 14 hours for the booster club members. The band boosters provide meals for every competition with help from many of the parents.

 Chaperones ride along with the students on the buses, staying with them the entire day. Jason said they shine shoes, take care of uniform repairs, supply bottles of water, provide any medical assistance for the members, and also assist the truck crew with getting instruments and props on and off the field.

The truck crew builds and maintains props, equipment, and instruments for the show and loads and unloads the equipment and props before and after a performance. The band boosters are continually looking for sponsorships from local businesses, whose names will be put on the band trailer.

"We also have several other parents - Heather Evans, Krista Allison, Katrina Hunnell, Carl Swift, Michelle Murch, Michelle Eisenhauer, and Jannine Ward - that make the unit go as smoothly as it does, and who we are grateful to call our band family," Jason said.

The band boosters' work does not go unnoticed. "I'm very appreciative," said sophomore Zach Magill, who plays the snare drum in the indoor percussion group and marching band. "It's amazing the amount of work they put in for us. Not many programs have that, so it's nice to have that here."