Early in the morning on April 19th, the music department loaded buses and departed for Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. According to trip organizer and music teacher Mrs. Mitchell, Paint Branch’s orchestra, symphonic band, concert chorus, men’s chorus and jazz singers have gone on this trip for the last 36 years, to compete in a music competition and also to have fun.

    The first day they arrived, they had a full schedule filled with excitement. In the evening, the students and music teachers had a beach barbeque at the hotel, and straight after, they went to the Nascar Go Cart Park. On Friday, they arrived at Aynor High School for the music competition. The first to perform was the symphonic band, second was orchestra, next was concert chorus, then men’s chorus and last was jazz singers. After their performances, the groups went back to the hotel and later enjoyed dinner at a Japanese steak house. At the restaurant, the chefs cooked right in front of them and threw small pieces of shrimp into the students’ mouths.

    The night didn’t end there; the groups then shopped at Broadway (a beach store by the boardwalk) and ate dessert at the Hard Rock Café. One of the members of the jazz singers, junior Milanca Lopes, said, "It was delicious."

On Saturday, the students had to choose between staying on the beach all day or go shopping. Junior Kelly Wilkins, who is another member of the jazz singers, decided to go to the beach all day. "It was fun, and everybody got to relax," she said. Sadly, on Sunday, they departed for home at 8 a.m. for the long trip home.