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Each year the Sorority celebrates the “13 Days of Tau Beta Sigma,” which begins on March 14, the birth date of our Founder Wava Banes Henry and concludes on the Sorority’s Founder’s Day of March 26. Each of the days of the celebration are filled with social media features that showcase many of our values, programming, and membership throughout the history of our organization.

Featured Events

Tuesday, March 14

Our Founder, Wava, was known for her delicious pie recipes. Celebrate her birthday and the kick-off of the 13 Days of Tau Beta Sigma by baking one of Wava’s own recipes provided by her daughter Sandra – or a special treat of your own!

Tau Beta Sigma Alumni Association

Wednesday, March 15

Throughout the day we will highlight the history and programs of the TBSAA including a history of the AA, release a panel interview of past Chairpersons recorded in July 2022, and more!

Monday, March 20

On this Day of Giving we ask  for donations to the “In Honor of Wava Banes Turner Henry” fund to support the repair and beautification of the Wava Memorial Garden after it suffered damage due to severe weather over the past year. 

Thursday, March 23

To celebrate our love of music, Tau Beta Sigma members, both Active and Alumni, will join together for a relaxing night of music and celebrating our band programs. Music and video recordings will be shared over Zoom and attendees can enjoy listening together.

Register to attend here. Suggest performances here.

Sunday, March 26

Happy Founder’s Day to all members of Tau Beta Sigma! To formally mark the occasion, we encourage everyone to reflect on the impact of Tau Beta Sigma on their lives while performing or viewing the Founder’s Day Ceremony. An updated performance of the Founder’s Day Ceremony by members of the 2021-2023 National Leadership Team is available on YouTube.

Social Media Engagement

Throughout the 13 Days of Tau Beta Sigma the Sorority’s social media channels will share posts celebrating different aspects of our History, Mission, and Sisterhood. All Chapters and members are encouraged to participate with these posts by liking, sharing, and commenting in response. To generate themed posts and responses of your own, click this link to go to the 13 Days of TBSigma social media resource page.

Trailblazer Trading Cards

The Trailblazer Trading Cards began in 2022 as a way to feature a member who has made an important impact to the Sorority. Each year we hope to add a new “set” of cards to recognize the many impactful members of Tau Beta Sigma that we are so fortunate to have counted among us! Follow along on social media to learn more about the Trailblazers for 2023 as they are announced each day. 

Create your own Trailblazer Card to recognize a member of your Chapter – past or present – for how they live out our Values as an organization! Follow this link to a Canva template that is ready for your own pictures and text to be added. Be sure to share these Trailblazer Cards on Social Media with the hashtag #13DaysofTBSigma and tag Tau Beta Sigma.

To see the current and all prior cards, click this link.

Ways to Celebrate

There are many ways to celebrate the Founding of Tau Beta Sigma during the 13 Days. More important than the date of celebration or the way you celebrate, though, is that you are celebrating the past 77 years of service to college bands. Select from the below suggested activities and incorporate these celebrations into your plans for the next 13 days! As always, we encourage you to share your activities on social media using the hashtag #13DaysofTBSigma to connect with Tau Beta Sigma members across the country.

Sorority History

Host a group discussion focusing on these questions about the Sorority’s history and the necessity of leadership: How did our Founders demonstrate leadership skills to see their idea of a band sorority through to the existence of Tau Beta Sigma? How is their leadership shown in their actions and sacrifices while founding the Sorority? How do these skills transfer to the success of Tau Beta Sigma today?

As individuals or small groups, select moments in the history of the Sorority’s founding. Each person/group should present the story in an artistic manner – visually, writing a brief song, or through acted reenactment. Take turns presenting these moments in historic order.

Chapter History

Invite Chapter and band members to join in a discussion about the history of the band program. Guiding questions and topics to consider include: When was the band founded? Were there key moments of growth or change in the ensembles? What are the band’s traditions and when did they begin? What are notable shows and performances?

Join together to review the Chapter’s Petitioning Documents (either a hard copy or the online files) and discuss the brief biographies of the Founding members. If available, invite these members to join a discussion to share their experience as Petitioning Members. To access the Tau Beta Sigma Petitioning Document Repository visit this link and enter the TBSigma Password to find your Chapter petitioning documents.

Using a physical or virtual whiteboard, create a timeline from the Chapter’s founding to present day. As a group, discuss key moments and events and add them to the board. Discuss how these events made an impact on the Chapter today. Be creative by adding visuals and photos!

Sisterhood

Write the names of each participant at the top of a piece of paper and hang them around the room. All participants will move about the room and write positive comments and notes (e.g. first impressions, favorite memories, hopes for the future, etc.) to each individual on their paper. Once all notes are added, the “scrolls” are rolled and handed back to each person to read on their own.

Each member should spend time reflecting on specific songs (you can choose band repertoire or all music forms) that are important to them or are a key part of their musical history. These songs can be added to a free Spotify personal playlist or a collaborative playlist for the group. Each person should give a brief description of their song(s) and their personal importance to them. For more information on Spotify playlists, click this link.

Provide a notecard to each participant and ask them to write down three interesting facts (characteristics, significant events, accomplishments, etc.) about themselves. Names should NOT be written on the cards. Once finished, all cards should be collected, shuffled, and individually read aloud. The group guesses whose card is read aloud.

Future Planning

Take time to reflect, either individually or as a Chapter, and complete the below questions. This exercise intends for individuals to reflect on their goals and intentionally plan for participation and steps needed to reach them. The worksheet can be adapted to Chapter-wide goals or to personal or professional goals for Alumni.  Click here for the worksheet.

Additional Activity Resources