UPDATE, Oct. 30: After performing in the parade, senior Jessica Massie earned first place in solo majorette for the fourth year in a row. The band, playing “High School Cadets” by John Philip Sousa, finished out of the top 3 in Division D.
“Winning this was a nice end to my twirling career at Fresno Christian,” Massie said. “After twirling for six years, I felt fully rewarded for all the hard work that I’ve done.”
For the 46th annual Selma Rotary Marching Band Festival, Oct. 30, music director Michael Ogdon and his band students will march in a parade in downtown Selma, from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
The parade will be held around Staley Stadium. The festival expects up to 40 bands to participate in the event, which follows the theme “Music, the Spirit of America,” according to the event’s website.
The parade will begin at the intersection of Rose Avenue and S McCall Avenue, heading north. Then the groups will head west on Arrants Street until turning southeast along High Street. The parade will continue down High Street until reaching the intersection with Mill Street, where the procession will stop. (A map of the parade starting point is embedded below.)
A project of the Rotary Club of Selma, the festival began in 1965 and drew about 3,000 attendees, according to the club’s website. Over 30 bands are expected to march and FC is scheduled for step off about 9:30 a.m. They will be the 21st group to march.
The band has participated in this festival — which is televised and judged — for several years, Ogdon said. The Selma Band Review is judged by the Northern California Band Association. The final results of the review will be posted on the NCBA website. This year the event will be given same day coverage via live streaming on the Selma Marching Band Festival website.
“I expect the students to perform better than the last time we were at the parade,” Ogdon said. “This festival will hopefully demonstrate the effort the kids have put into this year; they have improved so much from the beginning of this year.”
Past winners of the event, including 2009 solo twirler winner Jessica Massie, can also be found of the web site. Fresno Christian placed second in the 2009 Division D Field Show competition.
Because the band has prepared for this parade since August, sophomore Matt Adams expects a decent performance.
“I think we will do fairly well at the festival,” Adams said. “We have been practicing hard, so hopefully that will show through. I am not really nervous, but am mostly feeling just the anticipation.”
For more information, visit the Selma Rotary Club’s website or e-mail Ogdon. For more coverage of band, read the Oct. 8 article, Band to attend first parade. In the past, ValleyPBS has televised the event, but at publishing time, no TV information was available. For more Web information, visit ValleyPBS.org and watch their Selma preview of the event during a PBS Valley Scene: ‘Oct. 10 Selma Band’ video segment. For more information on band check out Twirler wins again.
