Marching Band Festival to be held at McClain High School

The festival is an event to give the marching band a chance to showcase their talents outside of the football field, according to Amie Ernst, president of the Band Boosters. The McClain Marching Band and Tigerettes will be performing selections from their halftime performances. The McClain Junior High marching band will also be participating, as well Leesburg's Fairfield High School marching band.

The Otterbein College Cardinal Marching Band will also be performing at the Marching Band Festival. The band from the Columbus college performs "for over 30,000 people each year," says the Otterbein Department of Music Web site. Various members of the band have performed at major events in Ohio, including the FIFA World Cup Qualifying Match between Mexico and the United States in Columbus last winter and a rally for Senator John McCain during the presidential election. Ernst said that the school is "honored" to have Otterbein's prestigious band performing at their festival.

The Ohio State School for the Blind's marching band are special guests to the event, as they will be performing in the 2010 Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California. There will be a 50-50 raffle at the Marching Band Festival to help fund the trip to California for the OSSB Band, the only blind marching band in the country. According to the Ohio State School for the Blind website, the OSSB Band, which is the smallest band ever to march in the Tournament of Roses Parade, marches in various parades and performs at concerts throughout the academic year in addition to participating at the Ohio School for the Deaf football games.

"I think it's going to be very moving to see them perform," said Ernst.

The Marching Band Festival begins at 6 p.m. Concessions will be sold during the show. Admission is $4 for adults and $2 for students, but Ernst said that they are also offering $7 for family admission to make the event more affordable for local families who want to support the bands.

"We're definitely hoping the community comes out," said Ernst, adding that the band appreciates the support from the community during their uniform fundraiser and other events during the past year.