On Sunday, October 6, the South Shore band, directed by Jodi Truchon, marched in the Applefest parade at Bayfield. The band was made up of 8-12 grade students, and some seventh grade volunteers. The weather this year was perfect, sunny with some clouds, and a light wind. This is a lot better than in previous years, where it’s either so hot the band members are sweating in their uniforms, or it’s so cold they can’t feel their fingers. It was a nice day until, after the parade was finished, it started raining. The rain helped some students make it back to the bus on time, though.

The song they performed was “High Hopes” by Panic! At The Disco. The band also came up with a routine for the march. They practiced the song and routine for the month of September. There were many other schools marching at Applefest as well as South Shore, because there were so many schools there, the march down the hill was slow. 

After the band finished their march, a lot of people ran back up the hill to participate in Mass Band. In Mass Band, band players from all schools can group together to play “On Wisconsin.” There are a lot of people, and since there is nobody else marching by then, it goes fast. Sometimes, the participants are practically running down the hill to keep up, while trying to play. It’s fast, it’s loud, and it’s fun.

The average annual attendance for Applefest is around 60,000 people, but even with this large number anyone at Applefest can still feel that small town feeling one gets when visiting northern Wisconsin. The realization of how small this area is is never as apparent as when a band or float passes during the parade and the crowd can yell the names of those playing or riding. Overall, the band members had a fun time playing at Applefest, and anyone who was watching the parade could tell that everyone there was enjoying the massive festival built around something as small as an apple.