‘Rose Parade’ features 1st appearance by Alaska marching band

PALMER — There’s a good and very Valley reason to tune in to this year’s Rose Parade.

When the sun comes up Jan. 1, 2014, for the first time in its 125-year history, a marching band from Alaska is part of the 6-mile-long Rose Parade. This year’s theme is “Dreams Come True.”

“The Rose Bowl is a huge deal for a band director,” said Colony band director Jamin Burton.

Burton and 111 other Valley residents flew from Anchorage to Los Angeles Dec. 27 in preparation for the New Year’s Day event, which is part of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses. And the band of 74 students also includes six band alumni who were invited back to march, Burton said.

In addition to being selected as one of 12 elite marching included in the parade, the band also will perform at 10:25 a.m., Dec. 30 at Bandfest II. Colony’s band is one of six set to perform during the second day of the festival, which highlights bands in the parade. The CHS band also will perform at Disneyland once, too.

This is far from the band’s first national performance. The Colony band also marched in the Fourth of July Parade in Washington, D.C., in 2006 and in the Inauguration Parade for President Barack Obama in 2009.

But an opportunity to participate in the Rose Parade is the premier invitation for a marching band, Burton said.

“Everything we did for those years was to build our résumé,” he said. “It’s something, in the world of bands, that’s the biggest thing you can get.”

The Colony Marching Band began Aug. 31, 2005, and is the only marching band in Alaska, Burton said.

In May, R. Scott Jenkins, President of the 2013-14 Pasadena Tournament of Roses, also traveled to Alaska to attend a Colony marching band concert and present the band its official flag, which it will carry in the parade.

This year is the 125th Rose Parade and the 100th Rose Bowl Game.

“These are big anniversaries for us,” Jenkins said. “We’re thrilled to have a band from Alaska.”

Getting a group of more than 100 people to California also required a huge fundraising effort, Burton said.

He said the cost for each student to participate was $2,300.

Fundraising efforts included a comedy showcase and a performance by the Harlem Globetrotters alumni, among other things.

Contact Heather A. Resz at 352-2268 or heather.resz@frontiersman.com.

This year’s Rose Parade begins at 8 a.m., Jan. 1, 2014, and will be broadcast on ABC and NBC. The Colony High School Marching Band is No. 86 of 91 entries in the 125th Rose Parade.