Adrian High School's marching band marches down Main Street Luverne Saturday during the Tri-State Band Festival. At right Luverne's Alisha Moeller, Becky Antoine and Emily Brandel were honored as outstanding drum majors Saturday.
By Lori Ehde
The day was overcast Saturday and rain fell intermittently on the Tri-State Band Festival, but the Luverne High School marching band outshined its competition in both the parade and field competition.
"It was great," said Dale Nelson, LHS band director. "It was fun. The kids did a nice job. I'm real pleased for them. They worked hard."
"Luverne's Tri-State Band Festival performance has been steadily improving in recent years, but this year is a best so far", Nelson said.
"It's the first time we've placed first in both parade and field," he said. "It's the second time we've placed first in field."
He attributes some of his band's success to judges' comments at the recent Waseca competition.
"They say things like 'This is working well for you,' and 'Maybe you can work on this.' That's a big aid to us," Nelson said.
Luverne High School also earned auxiliary awards for outstanding flag corps and outstanding drum major.
Crestwood High School, Cresco, Iowa, went home with the Sweepstakes Trophy. It also earned trophies for the K.M. Getman Award and Outstanding Horn Line.
Pipestone Area High School was honored for outstanding drum line.
Despite dreary weather, the festival attracted its typical crowd of roughly 10,000 to Luverne for the activities.