On March 15, 2025, the Galena Marching Band and Colorguard headed East to Chicago, IL, for the 70th annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Their day started bright and early with a call time of 5:30 am. The band’s morning was spent catching up on Z’s and breakfast at the Belvidere Oasis quickly due to running late.
Once they arrived near Chicago, they unloaded and started dressing in their uniforms. Members gathered in a circle and warmed up. Before the parade started, the band hung around and mingled with their friends. The parade was a successful time and was even featured on TV. Viewers got to hear selections of Shipping up to Boston and Seven Nation Army, which were crowd hits and got them moving and grooving.
Unfortunately, the band faced a fork in the road. A recent tradition introduced to the band was getting Potbelly Sandwich Shop sandwiches after the parade for lunch- the order was lost. A mix-up between messages occurred, and the company received the message for the sandwiches to be picked up instead of delivered. This left the band in a dilemma- do they veto the sandwiches or send chaperones to pick them up on foot? Members were distraught; they hadn’t budgeted for having to buy their lunch and relied on the lunch they paid extra for in fees. Others didn’t care about having to spend the extra money but mainly cared about satisfying their hunger.
After what had felt like hours, the band came to a consensus to veto getting the sandwiches and ultimately get food from the mall. This left the kids in another dilemma of whether they should dedicate what little time they had left to eat or to starve and shop. “The parade went really well in my opinion–and to be honest, the sandwiches aren’t even that good to me, and we were going to eat dinner in a few hours; so I didn’t mind not eating,” said senior Sarah Bello. Even after the bump in the road, the group still had fun wandering the mall and spending a hectic day with their friends.
The band wrapped up their trip with the annual tradition of ending the knight at Medieval Times. They got to eat a feast for kings and queens whilst watching knights fight for the title of “Defender of the Throne”.
“The St. Patrick’s Day Parade was incredible. I’d never experienced anything like that in Argentina. I was so happy to be there and to have a great day with my friends. It gave me so much joy to experience something like that, and I’m so grateful for the experience. It was a day I’ll never forget.” Said Cata Mauro ‘25.
The Galena High School Band and Colorguard had another successful year at Chicago for the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. While the band still had a wonderful time, they continue to look forward to next year and see what the future holds with their new teacher.
