It is dropped time and time again, but endures for up to three years. It threatens to fall apart in its environs, but stays together with tape, love and attention.
That the $30 wooden rifle eventually reaches its end is evident through the stories Carson High School's color guard can tell about its wounds.
"Some of the rifles will get to the point that if you drop them one more time, they'll crack into pieces," said senior Audriana McNeil.
Saturday's silent auction and wine tasting at the Brewery Arts Center is to raise money to bring a new slew of rifles - and sabers and silks - aboard for the 2005-'06 color guard year to supply a team that's nearly doubled in size from 12 to 22 in a year.
The color guard is a team of students who march and perform with the band during rallies and football games in the fall. The color guard uses flags, called silks, rifles and sabres. Each spring, many of those students participate on a team called the Winter Guard, and travel from area to area competing against other Winter Guard teams.
"Overall, we had about seven or eight competitions (this spring)," McNeill said. "Four of those, we won first place. And the rest we won second or third. So we're pretty good for where we're at."
They're a growing and constantly competing team that is reaching high levels of success.
"The year before we won every first place," said McNeill, who plans to join the U.S. Air Force after graduation but hopes to keep in touch with the team through her mother, Barbara McNeil, a coach for the team. "(Color guard) is just getting started."
"The color guard has grown by about 50 percent," said McNeill's dad, George McNeil, coordinator for Saturday's fund-raiser. "It's grown 100 percent, almost.
"They'll continue to grow and while they're growing, they have to have equipment. And each show requires unique silks."
Saturday's wine tasting and auction begins at 6 p.m. with the purchase of a $20 ticket either at the door or in advance by calling McNeil.
"There's usually about 12 wines available, a mixture of mostly California wineries," George McNeil said. "The ticket will get you in to tasting all the wines and give you a chance to bid on auction items and enjoy some hors d'oeuvres-type foods."
Silent auction items include wine baskets, gift certificates and a golf pass for two to Thunder Canyon.
"It's a dressy event," McNeil said. "It's not a jeans and T-shirt event."
n Contact reporter Maggie O'Neill at moneill@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1219.
If you go
What: Wine tasting and silent auction fund-raiser for the CHS color guard
When: 6-9 p.m. Saturday
Where: Brewery Arts Center, 449 W. King St.
Information
and tickets:
Call 560-4994
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