By: Nick Austin, Allison Rigler
On Saturday December 14th Benicia held their annual Holiday Parade. Many groups and organizations walked in the parade, including the Panther Band. The band had to meet up at the Yacht club at 8:45AM to warm up and prepare for the parade, it was very hard however to keep their instruments warm because of the cold conditions. The band had been practicing for about a week beforehand to make sure they had the best product to present to the crowd.
photo credit: Lorna Lavu
Many band members decorated their instrument including the whole trombone, trumpet, and suousaphone section. They put garland, lights, and ribbons on their instruments to make sure they stood out. The band looks forward to this parade every year because it is one of the only times they are able to showcase their music for the city. They played a total of 7 songs, but had 8 songs prepared. They played Jingle Bell Jam, Johnny’s Mambo, We Wish You A Jazzy Christmas, Get Down Tonight, You’re A Mean One Mister Grinch, Grandma Got Ran Over by A Reindeer, Uptown Funk, and The Kids Aren’t Alright. They had all these songs memorized for the parade. The band only had one practice before Saturday in which they marched in circles in the upper parking lot of the highschool to practice the dances needed for the songs.
The Holiday parade was quick, but a major success for the band. Many also used this as practice for their upcoming New York trip where they will be marching in the St. Patrick’s Day parade.
