Day 1: Bandfest.

Don't they look nice? Too bad the weather was so rainy for this once-in-a-lifetime photo. (This one was taken by a band parent, by the way.)

After having this picture taken, the band perused the Brookside float decorating tent and then went on over to Pasadena City College.

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There they had In 'N Out Burgers for lunch. Since it was raining, they ate in a parking garage. (I saw this photo and thought, THEY'RE GETTING THEIR UNIFORMS DIRTY!!!! I can just imagine how the band parents in charge of uniforms felt.)

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Then it was time to warm up for their Bandfest performance. See Ryan?

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After waiting through most of the other performances, finally it was time for the All-Birdville Band to take the field.

See Ryan?

There he is! Once again, he found us! (However, to be fair, we were the only two in the stands in orange, and there were 540 kids in that blue/white uniform!)

We were sitting on the "visitor" side because the home stands were so full when we arrived.

There's Ryan!

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Katie and I are in this photo, by the way. We're the little orange dots in the stands across the field.

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It was cold and rainy, but there was a good-sized crowd there to watch these bands play.


After their performance, the band (represented by the directors) was recognized by the Tournament of Roses officials.

The directors were presented with a commemorative drum.

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After the field performance, the band passed in review, playing their parade songs.







Of course, our band wasn't the only one on the program. In fact, Wednesday's program was just one of three Bandfest shows that week.

Katie and I had fun watching the other bands perform:

LA Unified School District Honor Band

Banda Musical Delfines

Upland Highland Regiment from California

After just a few hours in California, we'd already we'd seen two cool events, but our day was not over. Next stop: Santa Monica.