For the first time in 20 years, a band from New York state has marched in the Rose Parade in Pasadena California on New Year’s Day, fulfilling a dream for one central New York band program for years.
The Baldwinsville Bees have been very busy this holiday season. Hot off a trip to Pasadena, California to perform at Bandfest, a band competition before the Rose Bowl parade.
Bandfest was just the beginning. The biggest thrill for band director Casey Vanderstouw was marching through Pasadena on New Year’s Day.
"It’s the granddaddy of them all. It’s literally the biggest parade we’ve ever been in," said Vanderstouw.
And this band, which includes kids from middle school through high school, has marched in some pretty well known parades. The Bees were the first upstate band to march in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade in 2014. Vanderstouw said just the logistics of moving more than 130 kids, plus band equipment, across the country makes this the band’s biggest challenge.
"When we did Macy’s we could drive four hours down the road. For us to get to California, it’s a major undertaking," he said. "The pressure is a little different. Macy’s has a distinctive American to it. This is international. There are bands from all over the world, so it’s bigger in scope in that regard."
Vanderstouw has been applying to get into this parade for a few years now. His daughter Viviana, a senior drum major, is glad they finally got the chance to march in Pasadena.
"My rookie year was Macy’s, so to end my band career going to Pasadena is beyond anything I imagined."
