Pauls Valley’s Pride of the Valley Marching Band will host the 13th Annual Marching Band Championships on Sept. 24.
Each year, the Championships draw high school bands from all over the region to compete for top honors in both field competition and parade competition. But this year, organizers are hoping to expand the parade competition, which marches through downtown Pauls Valley, by inviting the community to participate.
Pauls Valley Band Director Drew Etheredge said when the Championships were started 13 years ago, one of the goals was to include the parade through historic downtown Pauls Valley “because it showcases our community. Being able to showcase our downtown area, our downtown merchants – that’s huge.”
But the parade has always included only the bands entered in the competition.
“We’re wanting to take that to the next level and get more entries into the parade and make it a bigger production,” Etheredge told the Pauls Valley City Council during a regular meeting in August.
Tourism Director Becky Ledbetter said adding other, non-competition entries to the parade is a boon for tourism and is also a great opportunity to advertise local businesses and civic groups, show community spirit and bring the community together.
“I love what it does for our community to see everyone gathered around celebrating together,” Ledbetter said.
Adding two to three entries between each marching band also has a practical application from a performance perspective.
“Sometimes the bands get stacked up on top of each other and suddenly you have a little bit of sensory overload … So, they need a little space and that’s a great way to space them, by putting two to three entries in between each band,” Etheredge said.
As of last week, Etheredge said there were more than 20 high school bands already registered for the Championships, with well over half of those expected to participate in the parade competition.
“We’re really pleased with the number of bands participating this year,” Etheredge said. “And, of course, we really want to see it continue to grow.”
There are many returning bands, as well as a couple of new entries this year. Most of the marching bands come from central and southern Oklahoma, but there are some that travel from places like Alva, in far northwestern corner of the state, to compete in Pauls Valley’s Championship each year.
“We’ve been going long enough we’ve established ourselves as a solid venue. Our contest has a great reputation, and we have lots of schools that return year after year,” Etheredge said. “We just want this to be a great community event, and we really encourage everyone to come out and enjoy the competition, both downtown and at the field.”
The Marching Band Championships parade will begin at 11 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 24, and travel through downtown Pauls Valley on Chickasaw and Paul Streets. There is still plenty of room for anyone who would like to participate with an entry in the parade. To register, contact Becky Ledbetter at 405-238-3308, ext. 157 or by email at bledbetter@cityofpaulsvalley. com.
The Marching Band Championships’ field competition will get underway around 1 p.m. at Thompson Field in Wacker Park.
