2022 Festival Details
35th Annual Festival of Bands to Be Held Saturday, October 1
Sioux Falls will strike up the bands Saturday, October 1, 2022, as host of the 35th Annual Festival of Bands, USA — one of the nation’s largest marching band events. Considered one of the premier band festivals in the Midwest, this year’s Festival of Bands will feature over 40 bands participating in parade and/or field competition. This 35th year of competition is expected to draw up to 15,000 people from South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska and Iowa to Sioux Falls to enjoy a full day of marching activities. Hosted by five Sioux Falls high school bands, all net proceeds from the day’s event are equally distributed to the five band departments.
“The Festival of Bands committee and Sioux Falls area high schools are excited to once again share their city for this great day,” commented Ali Dunbar, Festival of Bands Manager. “In addition to being back in-person this year, we are especially excited to be offering a live stream of the field competition at Howard Wood Field for audiences to tune in from across the nation. We are looking forward to the parade, field shows and music, and we welcome all ages to join the fun!”
At the Parade and Preliminary Field events, bands compete in four classes for ratings and rankings, with nationally recognized judges offering evaluation and commentary to the competitors. The event line-up and schedule of participating bands can be found at festivalofbands.com.
Parade Competition | Free
The Parade Competition will kick off the big day at 8:00 a.m. and will be held adjacent to Covell Lake, one of the City of Sioux Falls’ most scenic areas and close in proximity to the field competition at Howard Wood Field. The Parade will start on W. Madison and turn onto N. Lake Avenue in Sioux Falls adjacent to Covell Lake and the baseball fields. Parade judging platform will be located on N. Lake Avenue behind the Boy Scouts Headquarters. The parade will end at the corner of N. Lake Avenue and West Avenue.
Field Competition
The Preliminary Field Competition will begin at 9:45 a.m. at Howard Wood Field, with bands competing to advance to the Finals Competition that evening at 6:00 p.m. At the evening Finals, the 10 highest scoring bands compete in one class, with trophies going to the top five places. A free live stream of the Field Competition — both Preliminary and Finals — will be available at festivalofbands.com.
Admission
Admission to the parade is free. Admission to the Field competitions is by wristband only. Admission fees are $15 for adults, $5 for students, and children age 5 and under are free. Wristbands can be purchased in advance at all Lewis Drug locations in Sioux Falls and Brandon beginning Monday, September 19th. On the day of the Festival, wristbands can be purchased from volunteers at the Parade and Howard Wood Field.
Sponsors
We wish to thank our sponsors for their support in making the 34th Annual Festival of Bands possible:
GOLD SPONSORS: Lewis Drug and Ryan Tysdal
SILVER SPONSORS: Avera, Poppler’s Music, Scheels
BRONZE SPONSORS: Augustana University, Groove, Inc., Hy-Vee, Sky Zone, South Dakota State University, The University of Sioux Falls and Schmitt Music.
Sioux Falls Washington, Lincoln, Roosevelt and O’Gorman High Schools — will be performing in Field Exhibition during the event Finals. Sioux Falls Jefferson will be performing in Field Exhibition during the end of the preliminary competition.
In addition, we are pleased to be joined by bands from The University of South Dakota and Augustana University. The Sound of USD will perform both at the parade and at the end of the preliminary competition round. The Augustana University Viking Marching Band will perform the National Anthem and their show during the event Finals.
Festival of Bands, USA is dedicated to providing a safe and healthy event for all participants and therefore has announced this will be a smoke-free event. In the event of severe or inclement weather, the event may be delayed (same day) or cancelled.
About Festival of Bands, USA
Festival of Bands is an exciting day hosted each year by five local high school bands who also perform in Field Exhibition: Washington, Roosevelt, O’Gorman, Lincoln, and Jefferson High Schools from Sioux Falls, SD. The organization is dedicated to providing opportunities to its student participants for musical growth through adjudication and association with other quality marching organizations. Supported by over 400 parent volunteers, the Festival of Bands Committee spends more than half a year putting together the elements which make Festival of Bands a success. For more information, visit festivalofbands.com and follow Festival of Bands USA on Facebook.
