The band showed up for the East West Shrine Game Parade last Saturday to great weather and a gathering crowd. We had a new associate member, welcome Mike!, show up as well and he fit right in (despite having a different colored kilt).

We started at 8th Street and Central and made the uneventful trip down to the Civic Center without incident. As this was the last parade for a while it was nice to see all the pipers and drummers that showed up and helped get the band up to a respectable size.

The band starting the trip down Central Ave during the East West Shrine Game Parade.

The band continues marching down Central Ave during the East West Shrine Game Parade.

The bagpipe band met at the Great Falls Scottish Rite at 9:30am, loaded up and then made the bus ride to Dutton to participate in Dutton’s Fun Days and the 100th Anniversary of Dutton.

The number of people in town for the 100th anniversary was impressive and the parade lineup appeared to be as long as the Great Falls 4th of July parade without the gaps. Luckily we were in the front, just behind the EMS vehicles and the cars carrying the Dutton celebrities. We made the trip down to the mud racing flats without incident and the band seemed to be playing very well. We then waited for all of the various parade participants to make it to that point and then made the return trip, up the hill to the starting point.

While marching past one of the bars on the main street, the band was invited to come and play in the bar after the parade. We then finished the parade, loaded up on the bus and drove back down to the bar. We played a few tunes for the crowd in the bar and a round of drinks was purchased for the band members by one of the bar patrons. After playing a few more tunes, we all loaded back up into the bus for the return trip to Great Falls.

The band lining up at the beginning of the parade. Photo by S Wagner.

The band marching at the beginning of the parade. Photo by S Wagner.