Posted 5:43 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 1, 2011
[caption id="attachment_581" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="The UW-L Alumni Marching Band "]
[/caption]Big. Warm. Fuzzy.
That sums up the feeling UW-L Alumni Band Member Kris Cvikota gets as she marches during the Oktoberfest Maple Leaf Parade.
“You’ve never seen so many people so happy to see you,” says Cvikota, ’90, of La Crosse. “They come out in the streets and dance. It’s awesome. It makes you feel so good.”
A lot of alums must feel the same because last year about 200 UW-L Alumni Band members and 50 UW-L Alumni Pompons returned to march the parade. Cvikota expects a similar crowd this year. Rehearsals for the two groups will be Friday, Sept. 23, prior to Saturday’s Maple Leaf Parade.
The enthusiasm in the streets is reminiscent of playing in Miami’s King Jamboree Orange Bowl Parade on New Year’s Eve of 1985, says Dean McHugh, ‘89, who played tuba with the Marching Chiefs.
He recalls the parade slowing to a stop on a busy Miami street. The music did not. Marking time, the band played “Boogie Down” and people from the curbside stood up to dance — some even boogieing between the band’s rows.
The trip to Florida and the Bahamas in 1985 with the marching band is was what encouraged Cvikota to attend UW-L. “I was like sign me up,” she recalls.
[caption id="attachment_587" align="alignright" width="234" caption="UW-L Alumnus Dean McHugh, ’89, plays tuba in last year’s Oktoberfest Maple Leaf parade. The "Andy's Army" stickers were a tribute to his longtime friend and fellow band member Andy Fries, ’87, who died prior to last year’s parade. "]
[/caption]She said the band became a closeknit group and it continues to be.
“Oktoberfest ends up being more of a homecoming,” she says. “Everyone gets together. It’s all of your college buddies.”
During Oktoberfest the alumni band plays four tunes from the Marching Chiefs era — three are “Polka-ish” and hard not to dance to, she says.
This is the 26th year the UW-L Alumni Band will play in the parade. McHugh recalls he only missed one parade since they started.
“I literally see hundreds of people I know on the parade route,” he says. “It’s a lot of fun to see old friends.”
The parade
The Maple Leaf Parade will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 24. Rehearsals for both the alumni band and alumni pompons are Friday, Sept. 23, at separate locations. Read more.
Marching Chiefs
In 1990, the Marching Chiefs became the Screaming Eagles to reflect the school's mascot name change from the Indians to the Eagles.
[/caption]Big. Warm. Fuzzy.
That sums up the feeling UW-L Alumni Band Member Kris Cvikota gets as she marches during the Oktoberfest Maple Leaf Parade.
“You’ve never seen so many people so happy to see you,” says Cvikota, ’90, of La Crosse. “They come out in the streets and dance. It’s awesome. It makes you feel so good.”
A lot of alums must feel the same because last year about 200 UW-L Alumni Band members and 50 UW-L Alumni Pompons returned to march the parade. Cvikota expects a similar crowd this year. Rehearsals for the two groups will be Friday, Sept. 23, prior to Saturday’s Maple Leaf Parade.
The enthusiasm in the streets is reminiscent of playing in Miami’s King Jamboree Orange Bowl Parade on New Year’s Eve of 1985, says Dean McHugh, ‘89, who played tuba with the Marching Chiefs.
He recalls the parade slowing to a stop on a busy Miami street. The music did not. Marking time, the band played “Boogie Down” and people from the curbside stood up to dance — some even boogieing between the band’s rows.
The trip to Florida and the Bahamas in 1985 with the marching band is was what encouraged Cvikota to attend UW-L. “I was like sign me up,” she recalls.
[caption id="attachment_587" align="alignright" width="234" caption="UW-L Alumnus Dean McHugh, ’89, plays tuba in last year’s Oktoberfest Maple Leaf parade. The "Andy's Army" stickers were a tribute to his longtime friend and fellow band member Andy Fries, ’87, who died prior to last year’s parade. "][/caption]She said the band became a closeknit group and it continues to be.
“Oktoberfest ends up being more of a homecoming,” she says. “Everyone gets together. It’s all of your college buddies.”
During Oktoberfest the alumni band plays four tunes from the Marching Chiefs era — three are “Polka-ish” and hard not to dance to, she says.
This is the 26th year the UW-L Alumni Band will play in the parade. McHugh recalls he only missed one parade since they started.
“I literally see hundreds of people I know on the parade route,” he says. “It’s a lot of fun to see old friends.”
The parade
The Maple Leaf Parade will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 24. Rehearsals for both the alumni band and alumni pompons are Friday, Sept. 23, at separate locations. Read more.
Marching Chiefs
In 1990, the Marching Chiefs became the Screaming Eagles to reflect the school's mascot name change from the Indians to the Eagles.