The Starlight Parade

I am a band geek. That's right! Make fun if you want, but I found myself in the band room! There was a confidence born in me when I discovered that I posessed musical talent. I enjoyed singing in the choirs at school too, but it was different than playing in the band. Playing in the band was freeing!

Most of my fellow bandmates would tell you that they hated marching band. I secretly loved it. There's nothing like marching down the middle of a street that's been closed just for you, with a drum line behind you! I loved dressing up in the uniform that showed my school colors and marching with pride behind the banner that read "Milwaukie High School Mustang Marching Band"! We may not have been that good, but we always had fun!

I had always wanted to march in a Rose Festival parade and during my jr. year in high school I finally got to do just that! We marched in the Starlight Parade! It was completely amazing! I'll never forget the moment we rounded the corner of SW 4th and Salmon and a whole crowd of people from our school had gathered to cheer just for US. Then after marching up SW Salmon, we turned the corner onto SW Broadway and there in front of us were the gleeming lights of the tv cameras. I had never been so excited in my life!

To this day, The Starlight Parade remains my favorite of the Rose Festival parades. My husband and I take our boys down every year to see it. I sit on the street in downtown Portland all day to get prime seats to view the event. And every time the Milwaukie High School Mustang Marching Band comes marching down the street playing "King Cotton" we scream as loud as we can!

I'm sure people think I'm loud and obnoxious when I scream for my school. You may think I'm a complete dork, but I don't care! I'm Mustang Born, Mustang Bread and I'll be a Mustang 'til I'm DEAD!!!

The second picture is blurry, but the man in the front is the band director Greg VanWinkle.