It was a cold and windy afternoon in Goffstown, sheet music was flying away, music stands toppling over, kids dancing in costumes everywhere. Reagan Mckee a junior at Goffstown High School found it hard to keep playing her alto saxophone when the sheet music continuously flipped over; nonetheless, she was excited to see the children at Bartlett and Maple Avenue elementary schools happy and twirling with the music the Goffstown High School band was playing during the annual Halloween parade.

Every year the Goffstown High School band performs songs for the elementary schools Maple Ave and Bartlett. The band performs as the Bartlett kids participate in the parade to Sarrette field and the Maple Ave kids march downtown.  This year Mr. Belding conducted about 50 High School students, bringing the Halloween festivities alive. Some songs played were On Wisconsin, Notre Dame Victory March, Danger Zone, Never Gonna Give You Up, and YMCA. The special song for the Parade was Thriller. At Bartlett the band students played right in front of the playground getting a good view of all the kids in costume before heading to Maple Ave where they played right in front of the entry sign.

Though it was frigid and windy, the band has special love for this event because it brings smiles to these young kids’ faces. The end goal is to “make the kids’ parade more fun because those parades create memories” says Maggie Gill also a junior at Goffstown High School. Alongside the fun, “the band does also have a sneaky mission of using the parade for recruitment, with hopes of the fourth graders signing up for the band once they reach middle school”. 

Reagan plays the alto saxophone which is a wind instrument that is specifically an E flat key and uses a single reed. Maggie plays the euphonium which is a small tuba. Both have a deeper sound as opposed to a flute that has more of a whistle sound. The band left the high school right at 12:00 p.m. sharp and returned to the high school at 2:35 p.m. so they would be home before the buses came. For the high school band, it is a required performance that goes towards their grade in band.

Reagan goes on to say, “even though it’s technically a required performance I also like seeing the kids happy while we play for them.” Maggie also has a love for this event, even though it’s required, she states, “I LOVE going on trips with the band and the food given to us at Maple Ave. As a beautiful bonus I also got out of two classes which is always appreciated.”