D-Day 85th Anniversary · Normandy, France · June 2029

Crest of the Pipes and Drums of the Atlantic Watch

Help Send the Atlantic Watch to Normandy

In June 2029, the Pipes & Drums of the Atlantic Watch will travel to France for the 85th anniversary of D-Day to perform for the Americans buried at Normandy and Brittany. It is your sponsorship that will help get the band there and take part in this march to honor the fallen.

Pictured: the band at the Netflix dedication at Fort Monmouth honoring the World War II soldiers of the Army Signal Corps.

— days until 6 June 2029

The Road to Normandy

Eighty-five years later, we intend to be there

On June 6, 1944, Allied forces came ashore in Normandy. On June 6, 2029, the Pipes & Drums of the Atlantic Watch will stand on that same ground and perform in honor of the men who landed and of those who never came home.

This is not a concert tour. It is a remembrance mission. The band is going as Americans, with active-duty and retired service members marching in its own ranks. Planned appearances include:

  • Normandy American Cemetery — Colleville-sur-Mer The resting place of 9,388 American war dead, above Omaha Beach.
  • Brittany American Cemetery — Saint-James Where 4,410 Americans killed in the Normandy and Brittany campaigns are buried.
  • The D-Day memorial parade at Sainte-Mère-Église The first French town liberated by Allied airborne forces on D-Day, and the site of one of the largest annual commemorations in Normandy.
The band in Santa hats gathered behind its banner, which carries the Triumph Brewing and Guire logos either side of the crest, at the Yardley train station

Yardley, PA Christmas Parade, 2025. The banner leads the band at every public appearance. In June 2029, it goes to France.

Where the Money Goes

What your sponsorship pays for

Getting a pipe band across the Atlantic is a logistics problem before it is anything else. Bagpipes, snares, tenors and a bass drum cannot travel in soft covers. Funding for the band comes entirely from its members, its supporters and the events it performs at.

Line itemCost
Hardshell flight cases for instruments ATA-rated cases for pipes, snares, tenors and the bass drum. Airlines will not carry them otherwise. $5,000
Overseas instrument shipping and oversize baggage Freight or excess-baggage charges, both directions, for the drum corps kit. $3,500
The Normandy banner A new banner built to travel, carrying the band's crest and its Normandy sponsors' logos. $400
Uniform refurbishment and spares Reeds, drum heads, hose, and repairs. There is no music shop in Sainte-Mère-Église. $7,000
Equipment and logistics total $15,900
Travel stipend, per performing member Already committed by the band for every member who marches in France. $1,000
Total trip cost, per member Airfare, lodging, meals, ground transport and incidentals. The stipend covers roughly a quarter of it; the rest comes out of the member's own pocket. $3,500–$4,500

Members who would otherwise have to stay home

Every performing member is expected to cover the balance of their own trip. For some of them, including active-duty and retired veterans in the band, several thousand dollars in international travel is simply out of reach. Your sponsorship helps offset those travel expenses so that the full musicianship of the band can perform together.

Normandy 2029 Sponsorship

Four ways to put your name on this mission

These levels are specific to the Normandy 2029 campaign. The Pipes & Drums of the Atlantic Watch is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, so your sponsorship is tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Your logo goes to France

Normandy Banner Sponsor

$4,500

Enough to cover the full cost of sending one member to Normandy. In practice it is spread across members' travel and the band's gear and shipping.

  • Your logo on the band's banner — the banner that travels to France and leads the band at the American cemeteries and through Sainte-Mère-Église
  • Photographs of your logo on the banner in Normandy, sent to you for your own marketing use
  • Your logo on the banner at every U.S. appearance from now through the trip
  • Top billing on the sponsor wall of this page, with logo and link
  • Named recognition in the band's coverage from France, across all social channels
  • A private Atlantic Watch performance at your business or company event
  • Sponsor tagging in social posts throughout the campaign

To be clear: this level sends your logo to Normandy, not a seat on the trip. The sponsorship does not include travel, lodging or tickets for the sponsor or their representatives. What you get is your name in front of the crowds in France, and the photographs to prove it.

Become a Banner Sponsor

Road to Normandy Sponsor

$1,500

Enough to fund one member's travel stipend plus gear for the crossing. In practice it is spread across the trip's costs.

  • Your logo on the band's banner at the parades and events leading up to Normandy
  • Your logo and link on the sponsor wall of this page
  • Named recognition in the band's coverage from France
  • Sponsor tagging in social posts throughout the campaign
  • Your logo in the band's printed event programs and season flyers
  • Recognition at the band's fundraising events on the road to 2029

Your logo rides on the banner at home on the road to 2029. Carrying it to France stays reserved for Banner Sponsors, and keeping it exclusive is what makes it worth something.

Become a Road Sponsor

Normandy Silver Sponsor

$750

Puts your logo on this page for the whole campaign.

  • Your logo and link on the sponsor wall of this page
  • Sponsor tagging in social posts throughout the campaign
Become a Silver Sponsor

Normandy Bronze Sponsor

$250

The simplest way to stand with the band on the road to Normandy.

  • Your name listed on the sponsor wall of this page
  • A thank-you post across the band's social channels
Become a Bronze Sponsor

Pledge for three years, move up a level

Give at the same level each year from 2027 through 2029, and your three gifts are recognized at the level above. A smaller yearly commitment gets your business further on the road to Normandy.

Each year, 2027–2029Three-year totalRecognized as
$1,500$4,500Normandy Banner Sponsor
$750$2,250Road to Normandy Sponsor
$250$750Normandy Silver Sponsor

Recognition starts with your first payment. If a pledge ends early, you are recognized at the level your gifts have reached. The banner carries up to four sponsor logos, so Banner pledges are accepted while a position is open.

Not a fit for any level? Chambers of commerce, VFW and American Legion posts, Elks lodges, civic organizations and individuals support this campaign at any amount. A gift of $1,000 matches one member's travel stipend, and goes toward the trip's costs as a whole. Get in touch and we will find the right way to recognize you.

Beyond Normandy

Who you are sponsoring

Normandy is the mission, but it is not the whole year. The Atlantic Watch has been performing since 1993, and a sponsorship puts your name in front of audiences long before the band boards the plane — and long after it comes home.

1993 Performing since
20+ Appearances a year
26,000+ 2026 published attendance
501(c)(3) Tax-deductible
  • Local, national and international. Parades and ceremonies across New Jersey, the New York City Tartan Day Parade on Sixth Avenue, and in 2029, Normandy.
  • Parades and public events. St. Patrick's Day parades, Memorial Day and Independence Day commemorations, the New Jersey State Elks Parade, September 11th remembrances, festivals and civic events.
  • Veterans and service organizations. Standing relationships with VFW and American Legion posts, Elks lodges and military commemorations, with active-duty and retired service members in the band's own ranks.
  • Social media. Sponsors are tagged and credited in event posts, photo galleries and video throughout the season.
  • Website and blog. Logo, link and write-up on atlanticwatch.org, plus coverage in the band's event recaps.
  • Print. Season flyers and event programs distributed at every appearance.
The band marching in the New York City Tartan Day Parade on Sixth Avenue Band members with a color guard at a veterans commemoration The pipe band marching in full dress through a snowy parade The full band assembled with drums and pipes behind the Atlantic Watch banner

Attendance figures are published estimates for events the band appeared in, not a count of people who saw a sponsor's logo. The 2026 figure combines the NYC Tartan Day Parade (published at 20,000+) and the Rumson St. Patrick's Parade (6,000–7,000).

With Gratitude

Thank you to our sponsors

Businesses and organizations that have carried the Atlantic Watch this far.

2026 sponsors — on the banner today

Delicious Orchards
Shore Clean, commercial and residential cleaning service

2025 sponsors

Guire Landscaping, established 1894
Triumph Brewing Company, Red Bank, New Jersey

Annual funder — renewed every year

Monmouth Arts
Logos of the County of Monmouth, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and Discover Jersey Arts. The programs of Monmouth Arts are made possible in part by funds from the Monmouth County Board of County Commissioners and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.

Past supporters

Birdsmouth Beer's Atlantic Watch Pipes & Drums 30th anniversary Black Lager, 1993 to 2023

Sponsors of the Normandy 2029 campaign will be added here as they come on board.

Take It With You

Materials to share

Sponsorship Proposal

The formal version: the mission, what the money pays for, both sponsorship levels and the recognition that comes with them. Written to be forwarded to an owner, a marketing department, a charitable giving committee or a board for approval.

Download the Proposal (PDF)

Campaign Flyer

One page, designed to be printed, posted and passed around — at businesses, chambers of commerce, VFW and American Legion posts, Elks lodges and civic organizations, or shared on social media. Points people back to this page.

Download the Flyer (PDF)

Get Started

Sponsor the Road to Normandy

Reach out and we will follow up with a simple sponsorship agreement, logo specifications and next steps.

The Pipes & Drums of the Atlantic Watch

A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization

Email: awpd@atlanticwatch.org

Web: atlanticwatch.org