Each Harmony Brigade officially meets just one weekend a year, (known as "the Rally Weekend").  which begins on Friday afternoon around 3:00 pm.  For those arriving on Thursday evening, the organizers often arrange informal performance opportunities on Friday morning at local schools.  (Note: early arrival is optional and an additional hotel night payment will be required.)

Just after hotel registration you receive a name badge that lists your name, vocal part, and each song with the key signature.  From then until dinner you are on your own to sing in as many different quartet combinations as possible.
If you can stop singing long enough to eat, dinner is served around 6:00 pm and is an excellent time for enjoying fellowship with old friends and meeting new ones.  After dinner there is more quartetting late into the night. Many attendees pursue a goal of singing with every other attendee at the rally.
Following breakfast on Saturday morning an official Brigade business meeting is held. Then ​attendees are randomly assigned to a quartet.  Each foursome selects a name and another random draw assigns your quartet’s contest song.  Quartets then have about a half hour to hone their skills on the assigned song, then every quartet competes for a panel of judges. After the contest there is more quartetting until lunch.

After lunch the Brigade attendees report to the venue to rehearse for the evening show. You will have even more quartetting opportunities until dinner is served, after which everyone returns to the venue for the evening performance.  The show is similar to most barbershop shows, combining the Brigade chorus, our headliner championship quartet, step-out quartets and other performers whom the organizers may invite.  While the chorus is not the focus of the Brigade, the thrill of this large, wonderfully prepared gathering is a chorus experience that many men have yet to experience. After the show, an afterglow is open to friends and family of Brigaders at no charge, including a pizza party and quartetting into the early morning hours.

Sunday morning there is breakfast, time for good-byes and a few more songs, then wishing everyone a safe trip home. The NEHB board holds its last meeting of the current rally year and starts planning for the next rally!