This Saturday will mark the 60th anniversary of Carroll’s Band Day, and Jim Friel, with United Bank of Iowa, who is a board member of the Carroll Chamber of Commerce, says numbers are up from past years and they are pretty excited about the turnout.
The band traveling the furthest distance is Woodbury Central Community School District, who is about 88 miles away. And according to Kuemper Catholic Schools’ President, John Steffes, the day would not be complete without the participation of Carroll’s marching bands.
Program Director for the Carroll Chamber of Commerce, Sarah Foley, says they will be using the newer, recently introduced parade route.
The competition is sanctioned by the Iowa High School Music Association and the winning bands will be awarded trophies. Friel points out there has been one school win the same trophy for the past eight years, Roland-Story. This year, a special non-band parade entry will win an award for the best 60th anniversary float. Foley adds that the Chamber really has no way to measure the economic impact of the annual event, but the streets are generally packed with people along the parade routes. The parade will start at 10:30 a.m. and finish around noon, when people are invited to the special performances of the Carroll Community School District and Kuemper Catholic Schools bands at the Carroll Stadium. This is followed by the presentation of awards. Windstar and United Bank of Iowa are both sponsors of the annual Band Day celebration. A map of the route can be found below.
