FC’s marching band and color guard will participate in the 13th Annual Chinese New Year Parade, March 2. This parade will start at 12 p.m. and is located in downtown Fresno on F Street. The entire festival will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and will include activities, food, merchants and more. The event is put on by Chinatown Revitalization Inc., a non-profit organization.

Band Director Michael Ogdon believes the marching band is prepared for this event and thinks the parade will be a fun event to be a part of.

“We’ve been preparing for this parade for two months,” Ogdon said. “I think they’ll be fine; they’re the only band in the competition so we’re planning to get first. This is our first time going to this particular parade, but we’ve done parades before. I’m not nervous about anything. I’m just looking forward to having another chance to do a parade together with all the folks that are involved. It’s a fun thing.”

Ogdon is glad that the band gets to take part in this event, because he believes it brings the community together.

“The Chinatown Revitalization Committee is doing their best to try to build up the community understanding that there is a Chinatown in downtown Fresno,” Ogdon said. “By participating in this parade we get to be part of that effort.”

Bass drum player Kyle Gallacinao, ’16, is excited for the parade but is nervous about how the heat will affect the group.

“I’m most looking forward to marching,” Gallacinao said. “I like marching because its a good test of how much endurance you have. This is our first time marching this semester and I’m nervous about the heat. The colder it is the easier it is to march. When it gets really hot it’s harder to march. You overheat when it’s hot.”

Eighth-grader Elizabeth Baker will participate with FC’s color guard and is a little nervous about the parade because of past performance mistakes.

“I’m scared because there are going to be a bunch of people watching us,” Baker said. “I’ve done performances like this before and my hair got caught in the flag so that’s also why I’m nervous. This is my first time in the Chinatown Parade and I’m most looking forward to looking at all the booths at the parade. I think we’re getting there early so we can look around before performing. It’s been fun preparing for this, because someone is always saying something funny.”

For more news, read the Feb. 27 article, Joni and Friends visits chapel (VIDEO).