ROCKLAND — The winner of Trekkers' 11th annual Trekkapalooza event on March 25 was Fading Dawn. Winning the title of "Bus Band 2016," Fading Dawn was chosen by a combination of judges' scores and audience vote. Over 200 people filled the theater this year for the "Battle of the Bands" competition, which featured a fun '70s theme, with each band playing, at least, one hit song from this decade during their set. This year's event also featured an entertaining Lip Sync team, the Mayonnaise Spreaders from Oceanside High School.

"The success of this event is due to our amazing community," said Trekkers Executive Director Amie Hutchison in a news release. "It was very rewarding to see so many people coming together to support our students."

The Bus Band winner, Fading Dawn is a hard rock/metal band from Camden. Band members are Dylan Hitz (lead vocals/rhythm guitar), Alex Winn (lead guitar/backing vocals), Jason Pierce (bass/backing vocals) and Tyler Bilodeau (drums). Their guest cowbell player for the evening was Owen Shay. Taking second place in this year's competition was Playin' 'Possum, a family trio of musicians that play folk, rock and bluegrass music.

The other bands that participated in the exciting lineup included Mondaynite Jazz Orchestra, Miners Creek and The Dirty Birds. Judges for this year's competition were Oceanside High School East Assistant Principal Jesse Bartke, Oceanside High School East teacher Steve Weston, St. George teacher Adam Bullard and Oceanside High School students Chloe Finger and Kyle Waters. Elias Edwards-Jenks, Trekkers alumnus, volunteer and Trekkapalooza founder served as the emcee for the evening. In true Trekkers fashion, the bulk of the planning was done by a committee of student volunteers. Jenny Carter, Nathan Hersom and Amber Johnston made up this year's committee.

All proceeds from the show benefits Trekkers, a youth mentoring organization that serves over 200 7th through 12th-grade students growing up in the communities of Cushing, Owls Head, Rockland, South Thomaston, St. George and Thomaston.