CRESTVIEW — Crestview High School’s band knows how to draw a crowd. On May 28, the Big Red Machine will perform for the estimated 300,000 people expected to attend the 60th annual Indianapolis 500 Festival Parade.
Festival organizers say their parade is the third largest in the country, surpassed only by the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California, and Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in Manhattan, both of which have included CHS’s band in the past.
In addition to spectators lining the streets of downtown Indianapolis, a further million viewers are expected to watch the spectacle, themed “Experience the Celebration,” on NBC Sports TV.
The Big Red Machine joins 13 bands as the parade kicks off in Indianapolis’s Memorial Park, and will be the only performers from the South.
“These bands, their members, as well as their friends and family will take part in a moment of history while we collectively celebrate the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 and the 60th annual 500 Festival Parade with over a million fans,” festival CEO and President Bob Bryant stated in a media release.
Director Jody Dunn was judging a band competition in Alabama, as of this writing, but CHS Assistant Principal Ella Shaw said the trip to the Midwest will be a fun, educational experience for the school’s band members.
“They will get to march downtown and on the track, before the race of course,” she said. “They’re real excited. They’re raising money to go.”
Shaw said the trip is the once-every-two-years “big” experience Dunn arranges for his students. Dunn has said the performance trips are, for many students, their first adventure away from Northwest Florida.
In addition to their own performance, Big Red Machine members will visit Chicago, where they will attend a performance by the internationally acclaimed Chicago Symphony.
“They’ll get to experience marching in a major national event and get to see classical concert music as well,” Shaw said.
Plus, she said, the hometown band will get to fly the local colors before a nationwide audience.
“It’s a good representation for the community,” Shaw said.
What: Indianapolis 500 Festival Parade
When: Noon, May 28
Where: Downtown Indianapolis, Indiana
Notes: Crestview High School’s band represents Northwest Florida and the entire South for the 60th anniversary parade and centennial of the famed Indianapolis 500 auto race. To see the hometown band perform, tickets are available at www.500festival.com/parade: bleacher seats:$15; second row chair seats: $17; front row chair seats: $20; VIP seats are $35. All seating is reserved.
WANT TO HELP?
Send donations toward expenses for the Crestview High School band’s educational and performance tour of the Indianapolis 500 to Crestview High School, attention band director Jody Dunn, 1250 Ferdon Blvd. N., Crestview FL 32536-1799.
WHO ELSE IS MARCHING?
Bands joining Crestview High School’s Big Red Machine in the 500 Festival Parade are:
Beech Grove (Ind.) High School, Marching Hornets
Ben Davis High School, Marching Giants (Indianapolis)
Castle High School Marching Knights (Newburgh, Ind.)
Conant High School Marching Band (Hoffman Estates, Ill.)
Elkhart (Ind.) Central High School, Crimson Charger Command
Gordon Pipers (Indianapolis, Ind.)
Hampton High School Marching Band (Allison Park, Pa.)
Indiana National Guard, 38th Infantry Division Band
Indianapolis Public Schools All City Marching Band
National Band Association, Indiana All-Star Band
Noblesville (Ind.) High School Band
Northeastern High School Band Marching Knights (Fountain City, Ind.)
Port Huron (Mich.) High School, Northern Husky Marching Band
Purdue University “All-American” Band (Lafayette, Ind.)
South Spencer High School Marching Rebels (Rockport, Ind.)
Speedway (Ind.) High School, Speedway 500 Regiment
Sumner (Wash.) High School, Spartan Marching Band
Troopers Drum and Bugle Corps (Casper, Wyo.)
WANT TO GO?
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview High band revved up to march in Indy 500 parade