When the School Band is Kicked Out of the Fair Parade

 “I’m so mad that we got kicked out of the parade!”

Those words coming out of my daughter, who is a high school senior this year, caught me off guard this Friday after the Gillespie County Fair Parade.

“What?” I stammered. “Why?”

“They said we were going too slow.”

For the first time in the history of the Gillespie County Fair Parade, the Fredericksburg High School Marching Band was asked to leave the parade because they were unable to keep up with the floats in front of them, and a one block gap had developed.

Police officers had communicated with the band director multiple times to close the gap, but it was an impossibility for them to do so.  Instead of finishing the parade, the band was told to exit five blocks before the finish.

I was none too happy with what happened, so I began doing some investigating.  I found out shortly that I was not the only one who had extreme displeasure with what had happened.  The anger that part of the Fredericksburg community felt was palpable, and it gushed forth on several local Facebook pages.

Here is what I have been able to piece together so far.  Every year, one of the two Gillespie County High School bands leads the parade.  This year, it was the Harper Band’s turn.  They started off and set the pace.  The Fredericksburg Band was entry number 50, well back in the line.

The Parade Route starts off at the intersection of Adams and Main Streets in Fredericksburg and then heads east to the intersection of Washington and Main.  At this intersection, the parade makes a u-turn and then processes west through downtown Fredericksburg and finishes at the intersection of Bowie and Main.  

When the parade makes the u-turn, floats and vehicles slow down, and gaps are created.  The patrol officers, from many eyewitnesses, were urging floats and vehicles to speed up and close those gaps.  Perhaps this would not have been an issue if the band were earlier in the parade, but by the time the band began its march, the Harper band was almost or entirely finished and was no longer setting the pace.  The patrol officers hurrying the floats and vehicles along were setting that pace.  Simple laws of physics, motion, acceleration, and horse power will tell you that vehicles close gaps much quicker than 130 high school students can while marching and carrying heavy instruments in the heat, and the urging of vehicles forward only created a bigger gap for the band to have to close.

Each entry in the parade does agree to a set of rules when they enter.  There is no dispute about that; however, I have been unable to acquire a copy of those rules at this time.  I do know there is something in there about keeping a reasonable distance between one entry to the next. What I do not know is how specific that rule is.  And if the terminology is simply stating that a “reasonable distance” must be kept, then that is a matter of judgment.  The question becomes: is one block an unreasonable distance?

Especially when one considers:

• The hard work that the band kids and directors put in.

• The fact that school is out on fair parade day, and the kids are giving up their free time to march (with a little bit of arm twisting, of course).

• The long standing tradition and place of honor the band holds in this and the Christmas parade.

• The many parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other family members and friends who came to the parade to watch their kids march and cheer them on.

These are all important things to consider.  Very important.  

But we also must balance these things with the fact that we don’t want to go around bashing our local law enforcement officials.  From everything I have seen, they thought they were doing their jobs.  They knew the rules.  They know that if too large of gaps appear, some will think the parade is over and begin entering the parade route and messing things up royally.  They have to keep things as safe as possible.

But again, there are questions.  Are they trained to speed things up?  Are they trained to balance the power of vehicles alongside the fact that bands can only move between 2 and 3 miles per hour?  These questions are important and are ones of consideration for the future.  The Fredericksburg Police Department and County Fair Association will be having some intense conversations about this, and I am very happy to report that the Police Department has promised to take all community feedback into consideration at the event debriefing meeting.

But, in my mind, there is something deeper going on than these logistical issues.  As I look at what is happening, not only in Fredericksburg, TX, but around the nation, there is a definite clash of values going on.  I mean, can anyone say that 10 or even 15 years ago, that a small town’s high school band would ever be kicked out of the fair parade?  Never.  No one would ever consider it.  Why?

Because the values that the community held, and the importance of the town’s history, tradition, and treatment of its kids–especially those giving of their time to march and be seen in the parade–would have trumped any sort of distance or gap issues.  But that didn't happen here.  So, why didn't it?  What is happening?

Nothing that hasn’t happened before in other communities and small towns, and I grieve it.  In 1984, my grandparents moved to Bella Vista, Arkansas.  It was, at the time, a retirement community in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains.  My immediate family traveled to see grandpa and grandma at least once a year, and I came to love the area.  And I remember very well what the community was like when my grandparents first moved there.  It may be politically incorrect to say it, but it was Hillbilly!!!   And it was actually something the local folks played into.

Restaurants prided themselves in serving Hillbilly fare.  The local hole in the wall places prided themselves in having the best biscuits and gravy and collard greens around.  I still remember going to the “Ozark Mountain Jamboree,” a music venue which featured blue grass, country, and old fashioned Gospel music.  Antique shops dotted the landscape oftentimes sitting right next to venues where local artists and craftsmen sold their home made works.  The pace was slow.  So was the southern drawl of the local conversations, and there was great suspicion towards outsiders.  And I was okay with that.  It was their culture.  It was their tradition, and I loved being a part of it for those visits.

Then, Wal-Mart moved its headquarters to Rodgers, Arkansas, just a hop, skip, and a jump from Bella Vista.  The transformation of the area had begun.  Now, when you go to Bella Vista, the culture is completely different.  There is no longer any hillbilly “feel” at all.  The pace has drastically increased.  Fast food chains have replaced all the mom and pop restaurants.  There is now a completely new value system in place which has totally replaced the old.  I don’t like it.

I grew up in a small town, and I have lived in small town/rural communities all my life.  I can tell you unequivocally, there are both good and bad things about such places.  In my estimation, the good far outweighs the bad.  I mean, hey, it is highly likely I will forever be considered an Auslander in certain circles here in Fredericksburg because I didn’t grow up here.  I moved here five years ago to serve as a pastor in one of the community’s churches.  While I will have some respect because of my position, it will not carry the same respect that I would have had if I were born here.  And I’m okay with that.  I am.  I get it.

I’m willing to accept that because I know that each and every place has its own traditions and culture.  It has its own set of values and understandings.  When you grow up in a place, you just absorb these things and live them like a fish in water.  You don’t know any better.  When you move in, you don't know these things.  You have to learn them--and have a willingness to learn them.

These days, there are more than a few who don’t understand this, and what’s more, there is a sense among some that “I don’t have to conform to others.  Others have to conform to me.”  Small town values are not their values, and rather than be changed by the culture to which they enter, they want the culture to adapt to them.

I have learned to do the exact opposite.  For the past five years, I have been learning about Fredericksburg’s history, cultures, and values.  Believe me, I have A LOT more to learn.  I am far from being an expert.  I am far from knowing all the customs and traditions and values.  But I want to learn them, and not only that, I want to honor them and uphold them.  Why?

Because if I, and others don’t, they will disappear, just like they did up in Bella Vista.  Other interests will root them out and replace them with a different set of values.  Then, the community will lose its uniqueness.  It will lose its connection to the past.  It will become something altogether different.

I worry that this might be happening here.  That’s why, I think the unthinkable happened and the band was asked to exit the parade.  The values that once held sway are being replaced with others, and I’m not sure that is a good thing.  At all.  

Oh, I know: PROGRESS!!  The revenue that the wine and tourist industry brings to our community is a boon, that is for certain.  New businesses have replaced old and storied ones.  That has happened in the past, but the values didn’t change.  Those still held sway.  There were traditions that remained untouched because they were honored.  The Fredericksburg culture still held sway.  Can that still be the case?  I think so.  In theory.  In theory, we can still be a tourist destination. In theory, we can still embrace the wineries–as long as we ensure that our values, culture, and traditions are upheld and valued.  I hope that is the case–again, I am still learning, and I hope I’m not overstepping my bounds by suggesting so.  There are people who have been here longer who may and likely do have very different thoughts about this.  But I am ever the eternal optimist who believes that timeless values, traditions and cultures can hold on even when other things change.

I hope such things are taken into account as everyone processes and reviews what happened in the parade, and I would like to invite everyone in this community to take a moment and think about what makes our community unique.  How do we honor and uphold these very important things?  What are those values, those traditions, and those cultural nuances that are non-negotiable which help us decide how things should be handled?  Are they even still there?

Friday evening, I had the privilege of announcing the band as they marched at the football game.  I let the band director know that I was going off script, and that I was going to try and bring some encouragement to the band and the band parents after the hurt and frustration they experienced that morning.  As I announced from the press box, I could not see the crowd or the effect my words had, but later I saw the video.  I saw the vast majority of people standing up, cheering, clapping, and raising their voices in support.  I could see the kids stand up a bit straighter as they saw those in the bleachers rallying around them, supporting them, encouraging them, and acknowledging the long-standing tradition they are now a part of.  The values of Fredericksburg, Texas were on full display at that moment. The question was resoundingly answered.  Those small town values are still very much alive and well.  Let’s not lose them.