The Pius X band marched in the Lincoln Veterans Parade on Sunday, Nov. 12.

“About one third of Lincoln’s schools participate, and I am proud to have Pius as one of them,” head band director Jared Wilhelm said.

The band led the group, parade marching from Lincoln High down Capitol Parkway and ending on the Capitol’s base. Candy was also handed out by members to anyone who came and watched.

Despite being a field band, the Pius X marching band stepped up to the parade marching and performed great.

“Normally a field band marches in halftime shows, but we quickly converted into a parade band,” Wilhelm said. “We ran cadences, we learned a new song this year called ‘Grand Old Flag.’ Then we put our fight song in and cycled between the two, a nice sequence was produced.”

A new yearly goal of the band was to not have any gaps.

“At one point there were spots with a stage and cameras, I signaled for them to adjust sequence and they handled the situation very well,” Wilhelm said.

Junior Gavin Wiechman felt that there were no gaps or breaks in the band’s flow and how they nailed the fundamentals.

“All of us spent an hour and a half before school and during first period marching and practicing our routine,” Wiechman said. “Many of us even practiced on our own time to make sure everything was perfect, and I think it was because of all the cheering and praises heard.”

The parade has only existed for five years but has become an annual event that many band members look forward to.

“I think the parade went well, it seemed like everyone was having a blast,” junior Estuardo Alfaro said. “I was one of many who felt proud to been able to partake in a parade to honor our veterans, I would love to do so again next year.”

Wilhelm felt that it was an amazing day to celebrate, and a great chance to allow our band to support local veterans.