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| ~ Submitted by the East Longmeadow Fourth of July Parade Committee EAST LONGMEADOW As previously announced, the East Longmeadow Fourth of July Parade Committee has booked a few new bands to entertain parade-goers this year. Our last article highlighted the Spirit of America Band. One of the other new bands for the 2006 parade, is the Yankee Doodle Band from the Fort Crailo American Legion Post #471, out of Rensselaer, NY. The bands origins trace back to 1927 when a group of American Legion members formed a drum & bugle corp. In 1936 several musicians had family members who played other types of wind instruments, so they decided to transform the corps into a full marching band. By May of 1936 the band paraded for the first time as a combined band, drum and bugle corps. Since its early years the band has varied in strength but has never waivered from its dedication to preserving its musical traditions. Since 1928, the Yankee Doodle Band has performed in parades and concerts throughout the United States. There is a wide range of ages and experience in the members of the Yankee Doodle Band. Some of the members fought in World War II while others are too young to remember the Persian Gulf War. Some of the members have performed with professional musical organizations while others are school students still learning to play there instruments. There are a few other new bands and groups that will be performing in this year's Fourth of July Parade. We will be featuring them in future articles. The parade committee has started the search for parade participants. This includes marchers as well as floats. Anyone groups, organizations or people interested in participating in the parade should contact Dave Relihan at 783-9421. This Program is supported in part by a grant from the East Longmeadow Cultural Council a local agency, which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency. |