KEARNEY – Twenty-three middle and high school marching bands will join the University of Nebraska at Kearney for its 61st annual Band Day Parade.
A long-standing tradition, the parade scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday (Sept. 21) in downtown Kearney is a celebration of music that showcases bands from across Nebraska and gives them a chance to perform prior to the Oct. 5 Harvest of Harmony Parade and Field Competition in Grand Island.
UNK’s Band Day Parade begins at 21st Street and Third Avenue, follows Third Avenue south to Railroad Street, heads east to Central Avenue, then turns north before ending at the Museum of Nebraska Art at the corner of Central Avenue and 24th Street.
The top three bands in each class will receive trophies for parade marching, and additional trophies will be awarded to the outstanding drumline and color guard and overall champion.
Bands will also participate in the Bearcat Marching Festival, which follows the 1 p.m. parade awards ceremony at Kearney High School. The festival provides a “comments only” clinic format, where bands receive feedback about their field performances in advance of formal competitions later in the fall.
UNK Band Day participants (listed in order of performance)
UNK Pride of the Plains Marching Band
Kearney eighth grade
Ogallala Middle School
Lexington Middle School
Axtell
Kenesaw
Bruning-Davenport
Creek Valley
Gibbon
Centura
Cambridge
Amherst
Ravenna
Wood River
Elm Creek
Yutan
Holdrege
Cozad
Milford
Kearney Catholic
Grand Island Senior High
Hastings
North Platte
Kearney High School
