Drums on the Chippewa

White text on an outer blue edge with an inner white circle with an illustration of a kangaroo playing a drum over black text

Drums on the Chippewa was an annual competition in the Chippewa Valley of Wisconsin for drum and bugle corps. Drums on the Chippewa got its start in the 1960’s as the Eau Claire Boys Drum and Bugle Corps hosted them. Members of the corps competing are youth. In 2010, the average age of those competing was 15. The Sundowners were a drum and bugle corps from Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Boy Scout leader, Walter E. Brown, founded the corps in 1953 as an extension of his scout troop. By 1959, they had adopted a competitive angle and renamed themselves the Eau Claire Boys. More members, both male and female, joined over the years and they had a few name changes, but in 1971, they changed their name to Sundowners. The Sundowners competed through the 1985 season and had notable success in 1974 and 1980.

The 1977 Drums on the Chippewa featured 7 competitors from around the Midwest. The Sundowners of Eau Claire and the Brass Regiment of Park Falls Wisconsin competed at an exhibition level. The event was used to raise money to defray the annual costs of the Sundowners Drum and Bugle Corps. Buttons were sold before the event for $1 by Corps members and for $2 at the gate to help with fundraising efforts.