The 55th Annual Washington High School (Gene Hunt) Marching Band Festival is scheduled for Saturday, October 7.
The festival features a field competition at WHS. There will be no parade. The field competition at Scanlan Stadium begins at 11 a.m. The finals begin at approximately 5:45 p.m. Click the links below for the complete schedule.
As the hosts, the Washington High School Marching Blue Jays, also known as “The Pride of Washington,” will give an exhibition performance at 9 p.m. They are not eligible for awards.
The Southeast Missouri State University Marching Band also will give an exhibition performance after preliminaries at approximately 3:15 p.m.
There will be 14 bands on hand for the event, including two of the largest bands in Missouri with Rolla High School, over 190 members, and Nixa High School, the largest band in the state with over 240 members.
Participating schools are Borgia, Wright City, Ft. Zumwalt East, St. Charles, Helias, Rolla, Eureka, Pattonville, Grandview, Sullivan, Nixa, Seckman, Hermann and Francis Howell Central.
The Pride of Washington is comprised of students in grades 9-12 and has 155 members this year. They began rehearsing in June and finish their season in November with football playoff games. They travel to local competitions and compete at BOA St. Louis. Their show brings competitive elements to the field as well as interesting music, design, and color guard.
The Blue Jays also are involved in many parades throughout the year. They start the season with the Washington Fair Parade in August. They also march in the WHS Homecoming Parade and the City of Washington’s Christmas Parade held the day after Thanksgiving.
Washington Band Festival Preliminaries Schedule
Washington Band Festival Finals Schedule
Click here for a press release from the Washington Police Department regarding parking and traffic for the Band Festival.