The Pella High School Marching Dutch are set to perform in the national Independence Day parade in Washington D.C. on July 4th as part of America’s 250th birthday celebration, according to the Iowa Department of Education.
The 225-member band, made up of students in grades 9 through 12, was approached by parade organizers to participate in the historic event. Band director Dameon Place, a 21-year veteran, said the timing made the decision an easy one. “We travel every four years, but we typically don’t travel in the summer,” Place said. “However, since our trip year landed on the 250th celebration, we decided this would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the kids. There will never be another 250th Independence Day parade again, so this is something special for our marching band to experience and remember for the rest of their lives.”
The Pella Marching Dutch will be in Washington D.C. from July 1st through the 6th. For the parade, the band plans to perform a modernized version of “The Stars and Stripes Forever” — a piece they are already well-prepared to play. “We perform in three parades in May, including our town’s famous Tulip Time Festival,” Place said. “We added ‘The Stars and Stripes Forever’ to our song list for those parades, so we are well-prepared for the 250th Independence Day parade.”
In addition to the parade, the band will attend the National Symphony Orchestra performance and fireworks display on the Capitol lawn on July 4th and visit several notable sites including Arlington National Cemetery, the Air and Space Museum, the 9/11 Memorial, and the National History Museum.
For drum major and recent Pella graduate Josie Boll, 18, the event marks her final performance as a member of the Pella Marching Dutch. She said the opportunity carries special meaning. “I’m excited to see my peers perform at such a prestigious event and celebrate our country’s 250th,” Boll said. “Coming from small-town Iowa, this is a chance to see bands that perform internationally and have opportunities to interact with them. I’m looking forward to being a part of this celebration of unity and hard work, because that is what we experience in our own band.”
Boll also reflected on what the Arlington National Cemetery visit will mean to her personally. “As a freshman, we traveled to Pasadena, California, for the Rose Parade, so this will personally be a ‘sea to shining sea’ moment,” she said. “One of the best activities we have planned for D.C. will be a special visit to Arlington National Cemetery, where we will lay a wreath together for the fallen. It will be very special to get the chance to honor our country in that way.”
Place credited strong community support as a driving force behind the program’s success. “Our community in Pella is so supportive of our band program,” he said. “They take great pride in the band and the kids. It is neat to see what can happen when there is buy-in from the community.” He also expressed optimism about the future of marching band programs across Iowa. “The commitment level of students in the marching band is high. These kids work hard and do such a great job. I hope everyone sees how bands in schools today are making an impact. There are incredible things happening.”
Diana Hawley, fine arts education consultant at the Iowa Department of Education, echoed that sentiment. “We have a strong marching band culture in the state,” Hawley said. “With hundreds of Iowa marching bands practicing and performing each year, including in the summer, it is wonderful to highlight bands like the Pella Marching Dutch as they perform across the state and on the national stage. Marching band is one of the many ways that students find their pathway to music in schools, which can help them explore the arts and build a sense of belonging within their school community.”
