On Saturday, Aug. 19, the marching band hosted its 15th annual march-a-thon parade it spanned six miles through five different neighborhoods in more than 100-degree weather.
Leading up to the day of the parade, the band was working 3 hours a day for 4 weeks marching with heavy instruments more than 140 people would be participating in the parade. While countless other parents and service members were working behind the scenes.
“Practice for the march-a-thon ranges from five years all the way to eight for seniors,” band student Arquimedez Halsey said. “Leading up to the march-a-thon we had three hour rehearsals. By mile six, we had a lot of people dropping it was really hot.”
Not only was this a parade to test the band’s skills, but it was also a recruitment process inspiring other students and young children to join the band.
“It is really a big recruitment thing and we stop at the theater schools that will eventually have people that will join our program,” said band student Tommy Mickmolen. “We also got eighth graders involved throwing candy and holding up our banners.”
The march-a-thon performance was not only a fun activity but also a fundraiser that funds the band to continue doing performances like this one.
“We did it for two reasons, one was we did it as a fundraiser for the students and we started doing it the year we did the Tournament of Roses parade so the students were able to raise funds by pledges to offset the expenses of the trip,” band director John Keith said. “Since then it has been a way to give back to the community and all the parents, and families who have supported us from around the district to give back and act as a fundraiser.”
This performance had multiple different people who worked to keep the band safe while parading.
“There were parents who were assisting along the way to ensure there weren’t any pot-holes,” Keith said. “We have a safety crew, a health crew, and a water crew. There were also the sheriffs who went along with us.”
Overall the planning that goes into the march-a-thon is pretty complex. It shows how there are many other things that also go into making a parade fun for both the audience and the people who show their support for the band.
