ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
Those looking to support local young musicians will soon have just that opportunity.
The annual 'That' Liberal Band Fish Fry will be Friday, Feb. 7 at the Seward County Activity Center, with dinner being served from 5 to 7:30 p.m., and takeout and dine-in options will be available for people. The menu will include fried fish, fried chicken, hush puppies, veggies and a wide variety of other sides, and there will be multiple desserts for sale. Tickets are $10 apiece and can be purchased from any band student, or at the door that evening.
LHS Booster Club Vice President Mina Favila Villareal said there is a lot of excitement surrounding the event.
“This year is my first year helping with coordinating everything as the booster club's vice president, so I'm looking forward to seeing how it all turns out. My daughter is a freshman, so I'm playing things by ear somewhat since this is my first year,” Villareal said. “I've been going around town a lot talking to local businesses and working to get more involvement from the community – we've got Brown's Shoe Fit also selling some tickets at their store, and we're also collaborating with a marketing company to put together a promotional video showcasing the event so we can have it for future years as something to show off. I really appreciate working with them, and I hope we're able to keep up that partnership as time goes on. I would love to see the fish fry grow and get bigger for the community because there are actually people who have no idea the fish fry is even a thing, and that means they also have no idea of 'That' Liberal Band or the booster club or any of that, so my goal is to help spread the word and make it bigger and better for families in the community. The music students will be playing throughout the evening, and we're really excited to be doing the fish fry again!”
This year marks the 43rd iteration of the event, and Villareal offered encouragement for the community to turn out and support the LHS music students.
“Just come out and support the band and the band program, because there's also the jazz band, the wind ensemble, the concert band and multiple other groups, and the department has more than 100 students involved,” Villareal said. “They're at so, so many events like athletic events and concerts and other appearances, and they deserve all the attention because they put in so much hard work. They got '1' ratings at the WAC Festival and at K-State, so they've put in a lot of work to put on great performances. I would love to see this be great for the seniors as one of their final major events and create some excitement for the underclassmen planning on staying in the band program in school, and they deserve the community's support. They're amazing, and they work so hard all throughout the year rehearsing and putting their show together, and this fish fry is a great way to showcase how amazingly talented these students are.”
For those who cannot attend the event in person, Villareal said they can still show support for the program.
“The 'That' Liberal Band Booster Club is more than open to accepting donations, so if anyone wanted to show support, they can give a donation to the group,” Villareal said. “Anyone wanting to go that route can either get in touch with one of the boosters or one of the band teachers, and they'll be put in the right direction. This is the 43rd iteration of the fish fry, which we're really proud of, but if there is someone who wants to support the program but can't actually be there in person that evening, they can send their donations. People can also send any donations to the LHS office and make sure it's earmarked for the band program, which I would actually prefer because the office has its protocols for getting all of that.”
Villareal added there were some factors that led to this year’s event being scheduled earlier than usual.
“The time when we usually have the fish fry also falls really close to the students' spring break, so there was going to be that conflict, and we definitely had a lot of discussion as far as having it before Lent, having it after Lent, etc., and it was ultimately decided the best thing to do would be to have it before Lent and all the spring break craziness,” Villareal said. “We've definitely had a lot of people ask us about why we're doing it earlier this year, and it's because the scheduling was just wonky enough to throw things off. But people will be happy to know we'll be back to normal with the 2026 event, we already have that all set up and settled with the Seward County Activity Center staff.”
With this being her first year helping coordinate the event, Villareal said she has high expectations.
“I love helping plan events, and I'm excited to see how everything goes. I've seen photos and videos from past fish fry events, and it looks like everyone has a great time, but I also know it takes a lot of manpower to pull it off. The fryers are going the whole time, the band parents are cooking while the students are helping serve AND providing the entertainment, so there are a lot of moving parts,” Villareal said. “But I'm excited to see everything come together, and I know I'll be working hard making sure everything flows smoothly. We hope to see big crowds again, I know we had a lot of people come through last year – so much so, in fact, there were actually a few items they ran out of. We did increase our order, so we should be able to feed anyone and everyone who comes through, and we'd love to see the entire community out there that evening enjoying the food and the band students providing the musical entertainment. And anyone who wants to take some video on social media of the students playing one of the songs, we more than welcome that, because like I said earlier, these students deserve all the attention.”
Overall, Villareal said, she is excited for this year’s fish fry.
“Everyone come out and support these students, because it's their way of also saying 'Thank you' to the community for its support for all their work,” Villareal said. “Without the community's support, none of this would be possible, especially for more than 40 years. Come out and support the students, eat some good food and listen to some good music, and share your appreciation for these students' hard work.”
