The Sherrard Middle School Rams of Steel is an award-winning program that has been named a West Virginia Honors Music Ensemble in 2023 and 2024. This weekend, they are taking their talents on the road to Virginia Beach for PANFest.
Every year, the Virginia Arts Festival hosts an International Steel Band Competition called PANFest on Mother's Day weekend. Scholastic, Collegiate, Community, and Professional Steel Bands from around the world gather to be adjudicated by world-renown Steel Drum Artists and Educators.
The competition, also known as "Panorama", first originated in Trinidad & Tobago in the early 1960s. The Virginia International PANFest was established within the last 25 years as a way to celebrate the ongoing tradition of competing steel drum bands.
Groups from Virginia, New York, Florida, Cincinnati, and Chicago will also participate, while Sherrard Middle School will be the only Steel Band representing West Virginia.