If there is one thing the Montoursville Marching Warriors are known for, it is their energy and ability to wow a crowd, and at this year’s annual Mummers’ Parade, they continued to impress.
“The Montoursville band kiddos were fantastic! They always blow us away,” said Briana Trick in a comment on the Montoursville Music Department Facebook page.
The song lineup was “Ghostbusters” from the Ghostbusters franchise, and “Thriller” by Michael Jackson.
The band did their signature “Funky Shuffle” when not playing and marching these two pieces of music.
Band director Mr. Christopher Morgan posted pictures of the parade and students’ outfits on the Montoursville Music Department Facebook page.
“Everyone really went all out this year on the costumes,” said Morgan.
The flute section in particular continued with their annual tradition of being Minions characters and bananas.
“It started with three [seniors] wearing banana costumes my freshman year,” said senior flute player Brenna Rosenbaum. “It was such a hit at the parade that we decided to all do minion-themed costumes for my sophomore year and it just kind of stuck.”
Another section that got into the costume theme was the percussion section.
This year, their group costume was based on SpongeBob characters.
There were multiple other notable group costumes such as Scooby-Doo and Hocus Pocus.
“I think [my favorite part] was how excited people got when they saw us coming! It was so fun to see all the kids yelling “Banana!” “Minion!” “Beetlejuice!” said Rosenbaum.
According to spectators, the band is doing a terrific job of keeping the energy and sound levels up.
“I thought they were the best-looking and best-sounding band in the parade! I heard them rocking it before I could see them,” said Ms. Marge Ashton Twigg in a comment on the Montoursville Music Department Facebook page.
The participation and energy that every band member puts into events and parades like this one are what make them so loved by members in and outside of the district.
This year’s 77th annual Mummers’ Parade was one of many that the band has performed in, however, there used to be much more to the tradition than just performances.
“The parade was started to encourage the community and give them something positive after the First World War,” said Mummer’s Parade Coordinator Ms. Dori Rankinen in the NorthcentralPA.com article titled “South Williamsport Mummers’ Parade Celebrates milestone anniversary this Saturday.”
The original goal was giving the locals something to look forward to, and the parade since then has done nothing but promote that goal of spreading community pride and unity.
Featured photo (at top): The flute section dresses up as characters from the Minions movie for the Mummers’ Parade. This year, they took it a step further with the idea than in previous years, adding Gru and Lucy to the mix of characters. Photo by Mr. Christopher Morgan
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