We live on a very wide street; counting the parking lanes, it’s seven lanes wide. It’s so wide that, each May, it’s used for a high school marching band competition.
If you look to the left in the photo above, the reviewing stand is just beyond that cluster of folks in the street. The bands line up and march past the reviewing stand, then finish just as they get to our house.
We have a good view of them from the stairwell up to our bedroom, too.
If I were a little better at this tech stuff, I’d record then upload the soundtrack of our street for you too. What, you’re not a big fan of John Philip Sousa marching band music? Hey, but for high school kids these guys are pretty good! We even get bagpipes:
and the pageatry includes flag juggling, presumably by what we used to call the drill team. (Are they still called drill teams?)
They even have rifle tossing
and classy headdresses
including Native American headdresses:
It even has bands playing and marching backward.
Still, as much as I enjoy the music, I enjoy the colorful uniforms, too.
The bands bus here from as far as 80 or 90 miles away, and as much fun as it is to hang out and enjoy the parade, for some people it’s not just costumes and brassy horns. For instance, right after this band passed:
This nattily dressed fellow followed:
He must have been the band director. The kids had finished, and were rounding the corner just past our house. Probably relieved and exhilarated to be done, a few of them were talking and laughing, and he completely barked at them, telling them to shut up. What the hell! They were well beyond the reviewing stand. It was quite the splash of cold water on an otherwise amiable May Saturday morning.
And still the bands kept coming. There weren’t as many this year as there have been in years past, probably due to the deep recession.
There was a letter to the editor in the local paper this week, complaining about the event. The grousing couple who wrote it didn’t like the streets of the west end being closed, and having to move their cars or risk getting towed and fined. They claimed our side of town was shut down. (Not true, I’ve been able to get in and out of our driveway, simply by waiting for the right moment, driving carefully, and showing the cops ID to get back in.) What a pair of grumps! I mean, it’s only one day a year.
And if you’ve been playing in the school band, it’s probably a big event for you, coming at the end of the school year and all. Most of the time you play for other kids’ events, football games and such–but this one is an event just for the musicians. Lighten up, folks!
I think I might write a letter saying how much we like it, and hope they continue it and keep doing it just as they have in the past. Yeah?
Definitely write that letter!
Looks like it’s called the “Extravaganza of Bands”, hosted by Encinal HS.
Those flag jugglers are usually called “Color Guard” these days.
I didn’t even know this event existed (I live nearer Park St.) Looks like not many others did, either. If it had been better advertised I would have gone!
Takes me back to my band days in Texas where I was a tumbler. You haven’t lived until you’ve tried to do cartwheels dodging cow patties. And I LOVE Sousa, naturally.
This post hits pretty close to home for me Ombud.
Alright… confession time. My name is Julian and I’m a band geek. [crowd yells back, "hi julian"] : )
In fact I was the head of the band geeks. My senior year I was voted by my band geek peers to be President of the band. Of course being Mexican in a very predominantly white school, many of my peers called me (what else but?…) El Presidente. : )
Anyway, loved the pics and nice to see you putting that cool new camera of yours to use.
And you’re right… it’s just one day. C’mon people, lighten up a little.
Ya know, I’m not a big fan of the marching band genre of music, I do enjoy the occasional dose of pageantry, and it looks like this event would definitely fit the bill. And to have your own comfy perch from which to watch the event? Perfecto!
I hope those grumps don’t get their way. It looks like a good time for all involved (though I would possibly bring a pair of ear plugs).
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Phastphil, thanks for the research. It makes complete sense that it is hosted by Encinal H.S. as they are right around the corner. I’m pretty sure their football field and adjoining lot is the staging area.
Anhinga, I’m sure you’re right, I haven’t lived until attempting cartwheels while dodging cowpatties, but in my case it might be a near-death experience. I’ll bet you and Jules, err, El Presidente, were both the stars of the show.
LB, it isn’t too loud and you know what–I’m going to try and remember to send you an email next year, to let you know. There are quite a few spectators, most cycling through just to watch their own kids, and it is a fun show.
I’ve never understood the marching band. Maybe my Canadian roots and lack of high school marching bands is responsible. I do like the hats!
How’s the new camera working out for you?
They don’t have marching bands in high schools in Canada?
I’m still adjusting to the new camera. I got it in part to post pictures here, and am finding that, while photographing, I often have an eye for trying to include everything in the view, more the panorama, rather than singling out a good close up. Given th amount of space for photos here, it shrinks things that looked better in the original photo.