Latest news with #marchingband
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Block-length July 4 parade continues on Portland Avenue in St. Paul
Urban Landreman and his neighbor Greg Schaffner both played clarinet. So, when their wives gave birth to children the same year, the two St. Paul men knew what they had to do to inaugurate the special occasion: On July 4, 1986, their two-man marching band serenaded neighbors along the 1100 block of Portland Avenue, from Griggs Street to Dunlap Street, inviting residents to help them celebrate the nation's birthday alongside their new bundles of joy. Landreman, who had only lived on Portland Avenue for about a year, repeated the celebration the following 4th of July, as did Schaffner and others interested in their impromptu, one-block musical parade in the Lexington-Hamline neighborhood of St. Paul. More residents came the following year, and then the next, inspiring a display of decorated bikes, a sing-along of patriotic tunes and a 'human flag' composed of adults and children holding up color-coded poster boards to form a giant American flag. 'The part I like to say is the flag wouldn't be complete unless everybody did their part,' said Landreman, who predicted some 50 attendees would show up Friday for the neighborhood social's 40th anniversary. 'Calling it my homily would be too strong, but it's kind of like our country. We need everybody to participate.' 'It's super simple,' he added. 'It's like small town Americana. It's not over the top, with bright lights and huge sound systems.' The tradition continues at 10 a.m. Friday with a sing-along rendition of the 'Star-Spangled Banner' and 'America the Beautiful,' followed by a recitation of the Declaration of Independence, with each attendee reading aloud about two lines. 'One of the guiding principles is this is not a spectator event,' Landreman said. 'Everybody participates. We kind of pass it around so everybody reads a line or two. That actually takes a while. I don't know how long it's been since you've read the Declaration of Independence, but it's actually quite long.' Schaffner died in 2022 and his widow, Patricia, moved to the west metro. Landreman's wife Mary passed away a decade ago. But the tradition they all founded together continues, with the marching band — 'kind of a ragtag group,' said Landreman — drawing anywhere from three to eight performers, depending upon the year. Kids decorate scooters and bikes for the parade, which features a ceremonial passing of the American flag each year to the next flag bearer, usually a child. 'This has never been sponsored by anybody,' Landreman said. 'It's totally organic. People come from the neighborhood and make it happen.' Walz authorizes state disaster assistance after St. Louis County wildfires Strike to start Tuesday for health care workers at Stillwater clinic Stillwater to consider downtown 'sip-and-stroll' social district Disabled American Veterans of Minnesota marks 100 years with time capsule Ramsey County Board approves 3% raises for themselves
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
CMA Fest raises $2.5 million for music education
Before eager country music fans packed the Riverfront Stage and the big stage at Nissan Stadium lit up for the opening night of the CMA Fest, a local high school marching band turned heads in downtown Nashville. The Ravenwood High School marching band, known as The Rhythmic Ravens, lined up outside Music City Center before marching into the Fan Fair X space on June 5. Police vehicles moved out of the way to clear the view. Friends, family and perfect strangers gathered to watch as the band played. And Tiffany Kerns, the executive director of the CMA Foundation, said she got teary-eyed as she watched it all unfold. "I just can't help but have a sense of pride for them," Kerns said. "Everyone's proud. Everyone has their phones out. Everyone's taking video. It's like, 'Oh, we're all parents right now.'" This year, the festival brought in $2.5 million that will help power music education for kids like the Rhythmic Ravens in Tennessee and nationwide, Kerns said. A lesser-known fact about the annual CMA Fest is that artists donate their time to the festival and ticket proceeds go to the CMA Foundation. The nonprofit arm of the County Music Association was established in 2011 to partner with schools and music educators, provide grants and build equity in music education programs. Ticket sales aren't the only thing that benefit the foundation during CMA Fest, Kerns said. Some artists sell merchandise that also goes toward the cause. Country music star Carly Pearce took a step further by cleaning out her closet and selling her clothes during a special "Carly's Closet" pop-up on Saturday. Eager fans lined up to get some swag and catch a performance by the "Hummingbird" singer. Organizers said the event brought in $25,000 this year, making it the largest one to date. The Rhythmic Ravens were the first of several performances that featured students during this year's festival, which drew tens of thousands to Nashville. Other students on the lineup included New Orleans musicians from nonprofit Roots of Music, the Riverdale High School marching band, the Stratford High School marching band, Nashville School of the Arts student and songwriter Kingston Kharif, a rock band from Percy Priest Elementary and others. Opinion: My music students will play at CMA Fest. More kids need this opportunity Kerns hopes the experience the kids have at CMA Fest sticks with them for years to come. "Seeing the way that it brings joy to young people is a real gift," Kerns said. Learn more about the CMA Foundation and its work at This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: CMA Fest 2025: $2.5 million raised for music education
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Local high school marching band among millions traveling for Memorial Day weekend
Millions are set to travel for Memorial Day weekend this year in what's expected to be a record-breaking travel season (sound familiar?) and among those taking extra time as a precaution is the Loma Alta High School marching band. KTLA 5's Carlos Herrera was live at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on Saturday morning, where he encountered the LAHS marching band – and some parent chaperones – bright and early at 6 a.m. The group was on their way to Washington D.C. to perform in the National Memorial Day Parade, set to take place on Memorial Day, May 26. A total of 52 students and parents were making the trek. Band director Joe Calderon said that planning the trip took a year-and-a-half. 'We are so excited to represent California as the band this year, and it's been a great experience,' he said. 'It took about a year-and-a-half of planning to get to this day, so we are super excited.' Miley Cyrus reveals filming music video on Walk of Fame gave her an infection Traveling with such a large group can be tough, especially during a busy travel period, and Calderon noted that while the lines weren't too long on Saturday morning, he knew he and his cohort – who aren't traveling lightly – couldn't take any chances. 'With the group check-in, you want to do everything together,' he said. 'You want to keep all the instruments together…we have oversized marching band equipment…there's a lot of logistics going on.' As for the students, one girl who plays 'all the saxophones' said she was very excited for the opportunity to represent California in the nation's capital; another student, a slightly more tired trombone player, remarked that the experience was 'cool.' After some 'Alta Loma' and even 'Megan Telles' cheers in the terminal, the group was off to their gate. To learn more about the National Memorial Day Parade — and watch the livestream when it starts — click here. 1 dead after fatal Gramercy Park shooting involving '4 to 5 subjects': police The group's presence brought back high school musical memories for the KTLA crew; Carlos remarked that he played trombone when he was younger, KTLA meteorologist played the French horn, Lauren Lyster sang in her school's chorus and Megan Telles, an alumna of Loma Alta Junior High School near Loma Alta High, played trumpet. According to AAA, more than 45 million people are will journey at least 50 miles from home during the Memorial Day holiday travel period (between Thursday and Monday), an increase of 1.4 million travelers from 2024 and a new Memorial Day record. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
