Day 7 - STAMPEDE DAY!!! Early to rise. Alarms set for 5am. In the foyer by 6am arrives 50 sleepy but very well dressed Koalas. It was the silence before the Parade. 3 yellow school buses turned up to collect us and our instruments. Some supporters came with us too, even though it was very early in the morning. Because it was such an early start, we had to get boxed brekkys to give to the Koalas once we arrived at the starting point. The day was going to be stunning weather wise. As you can see by some pics, the band was seriously excited...or asleep. Lol All 14 bands had to meet at the High School where the Stampede Band organisation was based by 7am. Can you just imagine 60 school buses all lined up?? True!!!! At precisely 7:30am, all buses were asked to start their engines, we were led by the Police through the entire city on a convey to the Parade starting block. Every single cross street had a motorcycle policeman on it that was stopping traffic so that 60 buses, bonnet to bonnet drove through. We felt rather special. Upon arriving at the Starting Block, all bands disembarked their buses and started to mingle with each other. We were talking to the Grambling Ghosts and Minnesota. The Koalas had such a great time! Brekky boxes were handed out and looked absolutely delightful - they even included yoghurt and a boiled egg. At around 9:30am, Koalas began to get ready by putting on their jackets and hats, warming up instruments and becoming increasingly excited. It wasnt long before we were called to the starting position. The band next to us kept cheering us on! Some Koalas were worried they werent going to make it however, the weather was not too hot and the crowd was extremely supportive! The whistle blew and we started our STAMPEDE PARADE experience with Waltzing Matilda!! Straight away the crowd were cheering so loudly that the kOalas just burst with pride! As the parade went on, they were more and more confident with their moves in Thriller, Caravan and Party Rock and they really entertained their audiences for the entire 5.6kms. As we rounded the last corner, the band before us the Stetsons were all waiting either side of the road and cheered the Koalas over the finish line!!! They were congratulating them on a brilliant performance and how awesome it was that they had all finished!! It was sooooo cool!!! They then broke out playing Hey Baby and interacting with our members. We then reciprocated with Celebration. Gatorade for everyone, back onto yellow buses and headed back to the Uni. Koalas were on such a high!!! Our Drum Majors were absolutely brilliant and our very own Koala finished the entire parade!! Congratulations Kimmy!!!! The afternoon was spent eating lunch at McEwan Hall again, footy in the park and loads and loads of washing. Dinner was back at McEwan Hall and an early night was had by everyone. The Directors are soooo proud of each and every member and hope that this experience will last a lifetime! Koalas came to Calgary and definately left their mark!! Unforgettable. :)
Posted on: Sun, 06 Jul 2014 05:47:34 +0000