Close to 20,000 people lined Moose Jaw’s Main Street North Saturday for the Parade of Bands at the Moose Jaw Kinsmen 33rd International Band Festival.

Sunny skies broke through for the parade, despite the previous week of poor weather. The parade was one of the largest held in Moose Jaw, lasting more than two hours. The four-plane Tutor fly past of the Canadian Forces Base signalled the start of the parade. The Royal Canadian Legion color guard led off, with more than 60 bands from the prairie provinces and North Dakota following down both sides of Main Street. The range of participants took in marching bands, concert bands drum and bugle bands, pipe bands, brass and reed bands, high school, elementary school, community and adult bands. About 60 per cent of the bands in the parade were entered in adjudicated competitions. Some of the bands performed formation marching and drills at various locations, in front of the adjudicators’ stand at the parade entry on Saskatchewan Street and throughout their march down Main Street.

The 85-member Edmonton Crusaders Marching Band, with rifle and flag cores extending down the sides of the band players, received enthusiastic response from the crowd. The parent- sponsored band, in smart light and dark blue uniforms, won the fancy drill competitions Friday. The Moose Jaw Sprigs O’ Heather Girls Pipe Band demonstrated their formation marching to win the marching competition for pipe bands with a mark of 90.

The Clan McBain Pipe Band from Calgary, Alta. was runnerup with a mark of 82.

The Regina Lions Junior A Band, always a crowd pleaser in gold and purple uniform, won the open competitions for brass and reed, drum and bugle with a mark of 90. The 140-member team has a flag core of 24, which performed to enthusiastic cheering from the crowd. Runnerup in the competition was the red and black uniformed Yorkton City Senior Marching 100 Band, with a mark of 82. The color guard included energetic cheerleaders in black, red and white uniforms.

North Battleford City Kinsmen won the second marching competition with a mark of 83, while the Regina Lions Junior B Band placed runnerup with 76.

The Waverly Bandoliers from Stettler, Alta. also drew cheers from the crowd as the young red and black uniformed performers marched smartly to the lead of the high stepping drum major. The Soildrifters, a clown band from Saskatoon, added their antics to amuse the crowd. The motley crew of band members entered and re-entered the parade several times during the afternoon, at one point stopping the Eston-Elrose Honor Band, which placed third in the open competitions, for a serenade.

The Moose Jaw Antique Car Club displayed vintage automobiles during the parade. Moose Jaw car dealers were responsible for the courtesy cars which rode in front of the bands. Peacock Technical High School was responsible for the Century 21 float, created by the shop department as a school exercise.