Carnival Cruise Lines and WDSU-TV Announce 'Battle of the High School Marching Bands' Competition in New Orleans

MIAMI, Oct. 3, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Strike up the marching band, New Orleans! Carnival Cruise Lines, New Orleans' most popular cruise line, and local television station WDSU-TV have launched a search to find the most spirited high school marching band in the Big Easy. "The Battle of the High School Marching Bands" competition celebrates local spirit and skill, and will ultimately award the winning band a $10,000 cash prize from Carnival and chance to perform aboard Carnival Sunshine, the line's latest ship to call New Orleans home when it arrives there for its North American debut this November.

Area schools have three weeks to record a three-minute video of their band performing their school fight song. In the performance, the bands also must identify their school and the name of the contest, "The Battle of the High School Marching Bands."  To enter, high schools must upload their video to YouTube by Sunday, October 20, 2013 at 6pm CST, and email a link to the video to a dedicated email address [email protected]. A special judging panel will select the top five finalists.

Beginning on October 22, the five finalists will be posted to the WDSU-TV website (www.wdsu.com/carnival-cruise-lines) for schools, families and members of the community to get in on the musical fun and rally around their favorite band. Voting will run through Friday, November 1. Fans can vote once per day for the duration of the voting period.

The winning band will be announced in November and receive $10,000 for their school's music program courtesy of Carnival Cruise Lines, along with the opportunity to perform aboard Carnival Sunshine during its U.S. debut celebration at the Port of New Orleans on Sunday, November 17. Each of the four additional band finalists will receive a $1,000 cash prize from Carnival.

"As we prepare for the U.S. arrival of Carnival Sunshine to New Orleans, we want to do something truly special to celebrate that is in the spirit of New Orleans and its rich music history," said Jim Berra, Carnival's chief marketing officer. "This contest provides an opportunity for us to help foster musical development in the next generation of talented performing artists and is a great way to partner with the community to celebrate the November arrival of Carnival Sunshine," Berra added.

"WDSU is thrilled to partner with Carnival Cruise Lines in celebration of the U.S. arrival of Carnival Sunshine," said Joel Vilmenay, WDSU's president and general manager.  "Along with this state of the art vessel, Carnival's generous gift of $10,000 to a deserving school is big bow on a wonderful present to the Crescent City."  

Beginning November 18, 2013, the 3006-passenger Carnival Sunshine will offer seven-day cruises to the Bahamas and the Western Caribbean from New Orleans. Earlier this year, the ship underwent an unprecedented 75-day, $155 million transformation, incorporating all of the line's "Fun Ship 2.0" dining, bar and entertainment features, as well as a variety of exciting innovations unique to the vessel and 182 new staterooms.

Carnival has a long history with New Orleans, launching the cruise industry's first year-round program in 1994. Over the years, Carnival has dramatically increased its presence in New Orleans and carries more passengers from there than any other cruise line.  With the addition of Carnival Sunshine in November, the line expects to host more than 330,000 passengers annually from the Crescent City. 

For more information about the Battle of the High School Marching Bands, visit www.wdsu.com/carnival-cruise-lines.

Carnival can also be found on:

• Twitter: www.twitter.com/carnivalcruise 
• Facebook Fan Page: www.facebook.com/carnival 
• Flickr:  www.flickr.com/photos/carnivalcruiselines/ 
• Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/carnivalcruise/
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/carnival
• Journalists also can visit Carnival's media site, www.carnival-news.com or follow the           line's PR department on Twitter at www.twitter.com/CarnivalPR 

About Carnival Cruise Lines
Carnival is "The World's Most Popular Cruise Line®" with 24 ships operating three- to 16-day voyages to The Bahamas, Caribbean, Mexican Riviera, Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, New England, Europe, Panama Canal, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands.  The company's 25^th ship, the 135,000-ton Carnival Vista, is scheduled to enter service in 2016.

Carnival is a proud member of World's Leading Cruise Lines. Our exclusive alliance also includes Cunard, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Costa Cruises and Seabourn. Sharing a passion to please each guest and a commitment to quality and value, World's Leading Cruise Lines inspires people to discover their best vacation experience. Together, we offer a variety of exciting and enriching cruise vacations to the world's most desirable destinations.  Visit us at www.worldleadingcruiselines.com.

SOURCE Carnival Cruise Lines