Marching band - 2016

Waconia Parade - June 18, 2016

Marching Band season is in full swing!  

Delanie is playing the snare drum this year and is absolutely killing it.  :)

Jim and I are usually spectators but, on this day, I signed up for Mom Duty and spent the day in one of my favorite small towns in Minnesota......Waconia.  

Delanie is section leader this year!  She really excels at this leadership role.  She is such a confident little sucker......truly an old soul.  

I followed the school bus to Waconia (it isn't cool to have Mom ride the bus with the kids and that was just fine by me!).  

This is Delanie's drum line instructor - Mike Brown (AKA "Brownie").  They have really hit it off and she's learned so dang much from him this year.  In fact, she starts private lessons with him next week!

We arrived in Waconia about 4:30pm and their "step off" time was 6:30pm.  The amount of practice that goes on before the actual parade is intense.  They have this down to a science.....not a second was wasted.  

During practice, the sections break off to work on their portions of the show.  Never once did I hear any of these kids complain about the heat (it was hot & humid as heck) or the number of times they had to rehearse.  

Being a part of the Maple Grove Crimson Marching Band is not for the faint of heart!

About ten minutes before "step off", the kids are directed to get into their uniforms.  Again, not a second was wasted.  Each kid was completely self-sufficient.

After a few times through the entire show, they get one last water break and take their place in line to start the parade.  

During this particular parade, the marching bands are judged.  They perform the show three times.....walking a few miles from start to finish.  

I joined the other moms in walking along the parade route with the band to make sure they have water (or anything else) when needed.

I loved this show!  During the performance, it's straight-faced-all-business.  After each performance, this kids really get the crowd involved with their high-fives and silliness.  

All in all it was a terrific day!  Our band placed third (which is AWESOME!) and Delanie was all smiles.  A terrific day indeed.  :)

Make sure your volume is up and enjoy the show!!