Community gathers in Waseca for 36th Annual Marching Band Classic parade

WASECA, Minn. (KEYC) - Community members came together in Waseca to celebrate their 36th annual Marching Band Classic parade.

This event is to showcase the different marching bands in Minnesota while promoting community pride and fair competition.

“It’s nice to see the streets filled with people, you know,” said Edna Burns, President of Waseca Marching Classic. “A couple of years ago and we couldn’t do this because of COVID. It was a little bit of a disappointment; but as the years keep going, the crowds [have] been picking up. So, it’s awesome, and we’ve got more bands in the parade today than we have in a few years, so that’s awesome, too.”

The all-day event consisted of the classic parade where community members were able to see the marching bands, a classic car cruise, see dignitaries and the Waseca royalty.

“Just the fireworks show for the classic: I think I’ve heard from a lot of bands that we have the best fireworks show at the end of the Classic, every year,” said Attendee Matt Seberson. “So that’s something to look forward to. I know a lot of other bands [that] look forward to [it] also.”

At 5:30 p.m., there was a Classic Field Show. and at 9 p.m., there was an award ceremony and fireworks show. There were eight bands in the parade, and 14 bands in the Field Show.

“We rarely do a parade, but I thought, ‘hey, let’s do the parade,’” said Lane Flaten, Head March and Band Director at Blaine High School. “Let’s be down here for the whole day, make more use of our time. Just marching and getting more exposure to bands [is] really sort of a goal, as an educator is to expose other types of music and other bands.”

The Waseca Marching Classic parade was free and open to people of all ages, but the Field show cost $7 dollars at the gate.

Click here to download the KEYC News Now app or our KEYC First Alert weather app.

Copyright 2023 KEYC. All rights reserved.