Lots happening with the Jills and the Bandettes

First up, as everyone knows, 8 of the Jills spent a week and a half in Afghanistan visiting and performing for the troops. The girls loved the experiences they had and the military that got to see them really loved having them there. Well, Armed Forces Entertainment has another trip for the Jills to make starting Friday and bringing them home after the Super Bowl. Returning to the Middle East, this time to Saudi Arabia will be Murissa, Loren, Kristen, Kelly, and Jill. Joining them on this trip are Stefanie, Keisha, and Jaclyn. Let's wish them all a safe and enjoyable trip!

Also going on are Pro Bowl festivities in Hawaii right now and representing the Jills this season is 6th year vet Katie. The game airs at 7pm ET on FOX on Sunday and while the game itself isn't exactly hard-hitting football, they will be getting some shots of the cheerleaders so tune in to watch for Katie and that big smile of hers. Also, stay tuned to Ultimate Cheerleaders.com for photos from all the festivities courtesy of Pro Bowl Dan as well as James Blakey, who runs the site. They're already snapping lots of photos and we'll see plenty of Katie posted soon.

This Saturday at 7pm, while Katie is in Hawaii and some of the girls are in Saudi Arabia, the rest of the squad will be at Rapids Theater in Niagara Falls, NY for their annual Comedy Show. This year's event features master hypnotist Jerry Valley, who's been appearing at the Erie County Fair for the last 17 years! If they keep bringing him back that many times, he has to be pretty good to say the least. In addition, Comedian Matt Bergman, who's appeared on Morning Bull on The Edge a number of times will be performing as well. Go to http://www.buffalojills.net/Article.asp?id=2075401 for all the details.

After the Comedy Show, swing down to Hertel Avenue to see 2005 Jills alumnus Ashlee A filling in on vocals with the Studio 54 Dance Band at the Shadow Lounge. Studio 54 has added a lot of new stuff since Ashlee sang with the band full-time and she's been working on learning the new tunes, as well as keeping healthy so she's not suffering from a sore throat like she worked through when she filled in back in November. Shadow Lounge is located at 1504 Hertel Avenue in Buffalo and was voted Best Lounge in the Buffalo Music Awards the last 4 years in a row.

The troop visits aren't done by any means. McChord Air Force Base and Fort Lewis in Seattle have hosted members of the Buffalo Jills rather frequently including Ruby and Gabrielle a few months ago. This time around, they'll have rookie Ambassadors Meghan and Taryn there visiting for Super Bowl weekend.

Now, I said Bandettes too and they have a pair of things coming up you can see them at. First up is the next Bandits home game on February 4th at the arena when the Minnesota Swarm comes to town. Show up before 7 and meet some of the Bandettes as they greet the fans coming into the game. It's a great time to get your photos taken with the girls before they head down to get ready to perform at the game.

Also, the Buffalo Auto Show is coming up from February 9th-13th at the Buffalo Convention Center and appearing on the 9th will be fan favorites Mark Steenhuis from the Buffalo Bandits and Fred Jackson from the Buffalo Bills. Members of the Buffalo Bandettes will be there as well posing for photos with Steenhuis as well as checking out the new cars on display. Go to http://www.buffaloautoshow.com/ for details on the Auto Show.

Finally, there are a couple of things concerning the Jills coming up in the next few months to touch on. First up is Jills tryouts. There's a few details left to iron out but the Open Workshop will be held on April 10th and 1st cuts on April 17th. Both of these dates will be held at the Tralf Music Hall in downtown Buffalo with start times at 1pm. Stay tuned to BuffaloJills.net and the Buffalo Pro Cheer Blog for more details.

Secondly, it's not too early to think about summer and sending kids to a summer camp and the Jills will be once again running a camp at Niagara County Community College this summer. Check http://buffalojills.net/Article.asp?id=1995288&spid=34534 for more info with more coming soon.