Marching Classic perseveres through weather, complications

“Our parade was a success, and our field show will be, too,” declared Waseca Marching Classic organizer Mary Williams during the award ceremony that took place in Trowbridge Park after the noon-time parade on Sept. 19. 

 

Most listeners probably attributed her statement as an affirmation that concerns about the day’s wet forecast were diminishing and the schedule for the Classic could continue uninterrupted. Though that interpretation was accurate, it was also incomplete. Marching Classic leadership had faced other challenges, the first being that a large, similar marching band event traditionally held in Rosemount a week later than Waseca’s was scheduled on the same weekend this year, purportedly because of construction work.

 

The conflict had forced band directors to choose only one of the events, when they might otherwise have scheduled performances at both.

 

Either because of that conflict or for some other reason, the number of bands registered for the parade was lower than in previous years, and topping that off, two bands had sent in last-minute cancellations. “Sometimes people just don’t recognize how many preparations are made for them,” observed Band Booster president Edna Burns regarding the flurry of scheduling and procedural adjustments the cancellations had created on an already very busy day.

 

It speaks strongly of the Marching Classic’s resilience that most people in attendance perhaps took little notice of the changes.

 

Hundreds of people lined State Street downtown as more than 60 units passed by. Local businesses, pageant winners, event honorees, organizations, and hobbyists including owners of classic cars and tractors all took part.

 

Mixed in among the other units were the Waseca Junior High School band and the Marching Jays, the Simley High School Marching Band, the Stewartville Marching Tigers and the Pipestone Area Arrow Marching Band.

 

Award winners for the parade were:

 

Nine performances were included in the field show competition, which took place at the Waseca High School football field beginning at 5:30 p.m. Though there were periods of light rain as the evening progressed, all groups were able to perform. Class A competitors were the Dassel-Cokato Marching Chargers, the Luverne Cardinal Marching Band and the Pipestone Area Arrows. In Class AA were Rochester Lourdes High School; the Hutchinson Marching Tigers; the Spirit of Madison (S.D.) Marching Band; The Force, from Spirit Lake, Iowa; and the Coon Rapids Marching Cardinals.

 

Parade Awards: Taking first place in their class in the parade was Pipestone. In class AA, Stewartville placed first and Simley second.  Stewartville received the “People’s Choice,” “Exceptional Percussion,” and “Exceptional Color Guard” awards. Simley’s drum majors were selected as exceptional. The Pipestone horn line was ranked as “exceptional.”

 

Field Show Awards: Among field show competitors in class A, Pipestone was ranked first, Luverne second, and Dassel-Cokato third. In class AA, Rochester Lourdes was ranked first, Coon Rapids second, Spirit Lake third, Madison fourth and Hutchinson fifth. Rochester Lourdes was awarded the “field sweepstakes,” “exceptional percussion,” “exceptional hornline” and “Herb Streitz Spirit” titles. Coon Rapids was acknowledged for both exceptional drum majors and color guard. 

 

Pipestone was acknowledged with the Richard “Butch” Dufault Sweepstakes award. To be eligible for this honor, a band must have participated in both the parade and the field show.