The Penn Manor Marching Unit (PMMU) Booster Club will host a barbecue fundraiser on Saturday, Aug. 19, at Stauffers of Kissel Hill, 301 Rohrerstown Road, Lancaster. Meals will be available to purchase for a set cost beginning at 10 a.m., and they will include a half-chicken from Nolt's Chicken BBQ, a baked potato, applesauce, a roll and a drink.

While the deadline for preorders has passed, there will be a limited number of meals available for purchase that day. Those who have preordered meals must pick them up by 1 p.m. Walk-ins will be accepted until 2 p.m. or until supplies run out.

The booster club has organized the annual event for several years, and it functions as one of PMMU's largest fundraisers. Last year, the barbecue meals were sold out within 30 minutes, prompting the organizers to increase their supply for this year's sale. PMMU's booster club frequently hosts a variety of other fundraisers in addition to the chicken barbecue, including sub sales, a candy sale on Valentine's Day, whoopie pie sales and bingo nights at schools in the Penn Manor School District.

The booster club will host another fundraiser on Sunday, Aug. 27, at Painting With a Twist, 124 S. Centerville Road, Lancaster. The event will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. To register, visit https://tinyurl.com/pmmupainting.

The funds raised by the booster club's events make up the majority of its budget; the rest of its resources are supplemented by charging fees for student activities. One of PMMU's largest regular expenses is paying for music licensing, which is required for each piece that the band uses for a show. The money raised by the booster club is also used to compensate PMMU's music instructors, drill writers and instrument technicians.

Although the marching band has access to certain resources through Penn Manor High School's music department, many of its operating costs are funded solely through the booster club's efforts. Expenses crop up for many miscellaneous needs, including uniform dry cleaning, food and lodging for distant shows and maintenance on the trailers that the band uses to transport its equipment.

PMMU is currently preparing for a busy 2023-24 season, which will entail 10 football game performances and six band competitions. This year, PMMU will participate in conferences through USBands, a national organization that coordinates competitive marching band events. The marching band will travel to various conferences throughout eastern and central Pennsylvania.

The theme of this year's show is "The Road Not Taken," which is derived from the eponymous poem by Robert Frost. The show will focus on the subject of diverging paths in both a literal and figurative sense. The members of the marching band are currently preparing for the season at summer band camp, which takes place Monday through Friday each week from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. "The kids put in so much work for the show," said Brian Pursel, president of the booster club. "It's really amazing to see a diverse group of students with different backgrounds and personalities mesh for a common cause."

For more information, visit https://pmmu.org.