The Mildred Ave. Community Center is currently accepting applications for its Drum & Drill program, which is open to dancers and drummers ages 8 to 18. The registration deadline is December 31, and the program will run from January until June or early July.

The program will teach the kids how to play the instruments and read music, and will be instructed by a recent graduate of Berklee College of Music. Participants will have to buy a membership to the community center, but there will be no other fees outside of a uniform deposit that will be given back at the end of the program.

The program was on hiatus last year, but members have participated in the Dorchester Day, Puerto Rican and Haitian parades in the past.

Jeffrey Jackson, administrative coordinator of the Mildred Ave. BYCF, said the center hopes to “max out” the program, and can accommodate up to 20 dancers and 20 drummers. The dancers and drummers will rehearse as separate units, but they will all be part of the same corps.

For more information about the program, contact Carol Ayler, Patrick Wallace or David Palacios at the center at 617-635-1328. The BYCF Mildred Ave. Community Center is located at 5 Mildred Ave., Mattapan.
-Tayla Holman