76 Trombones and a Whole Lot of Pride

Yesterday was the 87th North Iowa Band Festival, and it is no surprise that it remains one of my favorite weekends of the year in North Iowa. It feels like everything that is right about our town shows up during Band Festival weekend. People are happy. People are outside talking and engaging with one another. There’s live music, marching bands, a parade, familiar faces everywhere you turn, and the chance to meet someone new. And of course, there are food trucks and all the fair food you could possibly want. It’s just the perfect All-American weekend.

Maybe I love it so much because I was born and raised here. I grew up attending the parade, marched in it as a child, and later marched with the Mason City High School band. Then years later, all three of my own children followed that same tradition. My oldest and youngest played bass drum, while my middle child marched in the front row playing one of the most iconic instruments tied to The Music Man – the trombone.

Long before my kids were even in band, “76 Trombones” made me emotional and still does. And I don’t just mean during the Band Festival parade. I mean anytime I hear it. I think part of it is nostalgia, but more than that, it is pride. Every time that song plays, I think of my hometown and how proud I am not only to be in Mason City, but to be from North Iowa.

I’m proud of the people who choose to live here. Proud of the people who make this community what it is. Proud of our history, our culture, and our heritage. Proud of our architecture. Proud of our musical roots and the opportunities our kids have in music, theater, and the arts. There is something incredibly special about growing up in a place that values creativity, tradition, and community the way this town does.

And I’m going to do something I don’t normally do – brag about my husband for a moment.

Yesterday was especially emotional because he was in the parade as the mayor of our town. Even writing that still feels surreal. I wasn’t able to ride alongside him because I was volunteering and helping line up the bands before the parade started, but I did get to watch him go by and wave to the crowd. And in that moment, my heart absolutely swelled with pride.

It’s hard to explain what it feels like to be born and raised in this community, and now be married to the mayor of the town you love so deeply. I am incredibly proud of him, proud of what he has accomplished, and proud of what I know he will continue to accomplish in the future.

So yes, Band Festival always makes me proud to be from North Iowa. But this year, it felt just a little sweeter, a little more emotional, and a little more meaningful than ever before.