Let's stop ripping DCI for a while and talk about something fun. Name your WORST and BEST parades to march in.

WORST - Rockford. Over 5 miles and went down every side street in town. The joke was that nobody had to leave their front porch because we went past every house.

HONORABLE MENTION - Harvard Milk Days! A glaring white street in the middle of July. The only parade we were allowed to wear sunglasses.

BEST - Evanston. Best-looking girls in Illinois (sorry if that's sexist, but parades get boring).

HONORABLE MENTION - Any parade at night. Except New Orleans.

What did you do in the Corps? Snare, Drum Major, Drum Instructor/Arranger

What years were you a Corps member? 1970-73; 78-79

Worst Parade HARVARD MILK DAYS

Best Parade hard to say

I was in the Rolling Meadows Parade this past 4th with our church and 2 groups behind us was the Blue Coats. Great group of kids.

What did you do in the Corps? horn

What years were you a Corps member? 82-84

Here is a worst .. originally posted here in Nov 2005:

Re: The Worst Parade I Ever Marched Was...

Not sure if this qualifies as a "worst", but it WAS different.

I just remembered that the corps appeared in a "Santa Claus" parade in Edison Park (maybe 1959 or 1960). But it was so cold that the corps actually played in a gas station bay!

There was no way to play in a parade, but they had us play a concert at the gas station on Northwest Highway.

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-63

The Harvard "Milk Days" parade was tough because of the whitewashed street. A really long and hot parade was the Milwaukee Circus parade: long (5 miles), HOT (July) and they provided horses and elephants!

Some GOOD parades were: Memorial Day down Michigan Blvd, Momence Gladiola parade; Evanston and any SHORT parade!

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-63

I'll go with Evanston as a good parade as well as anything down Michigan Avenue or State Street.

I actually watched the Evanston parade in 1975 when I was in Chicago visiting my dan and sister. They held a contest at Northwestern (the website censor wouldn't let we use the real name) stadium in the early evening that featured Madison, the Cavaliers and a few others and all of them were in the parade. That was the year that Madison won everything and their hornline actually shock the old stadium. Actually got me interested in following drum corps and went to a DCA show in Baltimore later than summer plus 1976 DCI in Philadelphia.

The worst parade I recollect was the 1963 Milwaukee Circus Parade. Long, hot and a lot of animal droppings. I also recollect marching in a parade in 1960 for John F Kennedy's Presidential campaign. State Street to Chicago Stadium. The last part was through skid row. I think Dave has some comments on another posting relative to the Imperials on that.

At the start of the parade we were almost crushed by the crowd as Kennedy drove by in a convertible. First time I'd seen a President (although he hadn't been elected yet).

What did you do in the Corps? Baritone

What years were you a Corps member? Cadets 1959 to 1961 Imperials 1962 to 1966

Worst Parade: Schlitz Circus Parade in Milwaukee (Elephants and horse droppings to dodge throughout the 5-6 mile parade route, the heat and the smell topped it off) followed closely by the Harvard Milk Days, the only parade we were aloowed to wear sunglasses in.

Best Parade: VFW Nationals in Minneapolis. And the parade I marched with (along side) Guardsmen in New York City in 1976. The locals were a real treat there.

Had to really think to find a parade I really thought was a blast. I could think of many that were a drag or not so much fun.

What did you do in the Corps? Brass Instructor, Corps Manager

Best parade.. Rhode Island 4th July... awesome scenery but long at 5 miles

Worst I have to vote on Harvard as well

Haravard Milk Days for the glare. St. Patrick's Day for the cold

And worst of all was Manitowoc 1980

What did you do in the Corps? Cymbals, Bass Drum, Tenor

What years were you a Corps member? 1980 - 1983

From this fan's perspective, the parade that I enjoyed the most was in Janesville, WI, about 1955. How well I remember the announcer saying, "The Norwood Park Imperials will be coming around the bend in just a few moments!" And, sure enough, here they came... such cool uniforms! Such loud, good music. Such crisp marching. It all is a vivid boyhood memory. I remember how idyllic the setting was. Trees bent over the parade route, thru downtown, and the sunshine, shining thru, between them, made the uniforms and horns and drums and color guard (rifles and all) change from brilliant maroon and gold, and white (so satiny were the shirts -- blouse-like) to duller shades of the same. I remember being struck by that, and also waiting for the sunshine to brighten the corps again, as they paraded between trees' shadows. The silver on those heavy wooden rifles reflected the sun, sparkling. It was all-American, to me, as a boy. It all thrilled me, especially the Imperials, looking so proud, as they marched along. It was small town America at its most beautiful and innocent... Currier and Ives stuff. I remember enjoying the parades, that the Imperials were in, just as much as I enjoyed the shows, if not moreso. It was the proximity of the corps (plural) that I liked... and the sound used to shake me... and I liked that.

I think that the marchers leave impressions on people very much so... more than they realize, Bob. I also remember how clean and shiney the shoes of the various corps were, back then. To those marching, performing, particularly in parades, might get a bit boring and mundane (I guess), but to a kid, it is always exciting, and the kids really watch and are impressionable. I still feel like a kid when I see drum corps perform, and I still am affected by their performances... by some more than by others.

White bucks - the bane of every rookie in drum corps! You had to polish them for the Saturday parade, then again for the show that night, and twice more on Sunday. God forbid you had a Friday show too!

And then there were inspections!!!

What did you do in the Corps? Snare, Drum Major, Drum Instructor/Arranger

What years were you a Corps member? 1970-73; 78-79

The WORST parades were the combination of parades and shows when the 4th of July fell on a Friday or Monday. The early morning parades were fine but as the day went on ya kinda got tired of hearing taps and the pride of battle jackets had ya stinking before the week end was over(gagging on right guard).

One of the nicest shows with the slowest punishment for organized parades was Streator. The corner downtown was a show stopper while we baked.

The best parades were always downtown Chicago. You had to kinda wait around before you stepped off but the breeze was nice and they kept the parade(s) moving. Horse poop and all.

The most interesting parade occured when the buses split up and one broke down going to Springfield. The parade was there with half a corps...compliments of Davidsmeyer.....

One of the best parades we marched in the late 70's was the Coast Guard Parade in Grand Haven. Michigan. It was short, about a mile, the crowds were enthusiastic and large, and since we had the good fortune to be there often, we were practically a home town favorite. One of the better decisions that I may have made, from what I have read, was to never go to the Milk Day parade in Harvard. It caused me some grief however since alot of my wife's family lived there. There were three parades during that period that were terrible for different reasons. The first was in Appleton, Wi. It was windy, long, and with few viewers. The second was St.Patricks Day in Chicago. It was cold, which was not that unusual, and windy. To make it worse we were stuck on the bridge over the river for ten minutes which added to the discomfort index. As usual, there were the drunks, who
insisted on spraying beer. They thought better of that idea after one of flags swung her pike and took the beer bottle out of ones hand giving him a well deserved bath.
It was probably the most applause that anyone got that day. Last, but not least, was the Bi-Cenntenial Parade through Skokie from the border to just short of Oakton. The rain, started at the onset of the parade, and poured the whole time. The bad part was not getting wet, but that the uniforms were badly damaged to the point of no longer being serviceable. It necessitated replacing them, but that's a story for another day.

What years were you a Corps member? A Corps manager 76-79

I think almost all of the posts here mention the Harvard Milk Day parade. Aside from the glare from the white streets, they did have a pretty good crowd and it was a great parade to work on your tan. LOL

One parade not mentioned in here so far is the Momence Gladiolas Festival Parade. That was a pretty fun parade because the entire city showed up. It was also a memorable contest because the fans would sit right up next to the field. Great place to hear the horn lines and drum lines, but uncomfortable for the performers with the crowd that close. Was a fun place to perform though.

What did you do in the Corps? Brass Instructor, Corps Manager

Momence was one of my favorite shows. I performed there with both the Cadets and the Imperials. There was always a carnival on the grounds, in addition to the drum corps show.

What did you do in the Corps? Snare, Drum Major, Drum Instructor/Arranger

What years were you a Corps member? 1970-73; 78-79

One other parade was the 1963 Indy 500 parade. There was no contest associated with the parade. Don't know why we were invited but I recollect it was on a weekday. We left Billy Caldwell about noon and arrived about 5 pm. Remember getting a great box lunch/dinner when we arrived--only remember this because it's the only time I remember a parade sponsor giving us something like that.

I also remember the Purdue Marching Band was there along with the Golden Girl and Silver Twins. After the parade, we changed, got on the buses and returned to Chicago about 1 or 2 am. Went to school the next day.

A lot of people talk about the Harvard Milk Days parade but I guess I must live right because during my seven seasons in the Cadets and Imperials we never marched in that parade.

What years were you a Corps member? Cadets 1959 through 1961 Imperials 1962 through 1966

When I marched in Kilts we had pretty strict rules about sunglasses. We were not allowed under any circumstances other than medical reasons to wear them. The only exception to the rule was when we marched in Harvard. We were told to wear them and we were also told to wear sunblock or some sun screen because of the glare off the streets. In spite of all that, I think I actually liked that parade because of the crowd.

I remember one parade that was pretty short and the whole town showed up and that was at the Argonne Rebel's show in Great Bend, Kansas. The show was always standing room only and the crowd was wall to wall people about 6 or 7 deep for the parade. Now those are the kinds of parades that were great to march. It was only about a mile and a half and we must have played 20 times in that span. The crowd was really appreciative too, which makes it even more worthwhile.

What did you do in the Corps? Brass Instructor, Corps Manager

I remember in the Cadets on a 4th of July, I think it was Hanover Park. We just marched through a subdivision with people just sitting in front of their houses or just on their porch. Not much excitement.

I LOVE animals, even circus animals. But .. put them at the END of the parade!

What did you do in the Corps? drummer: later: Quartermaster, assistant drum instructor

What years were you a Corps member? 1958- 63

Good Idea, but Milwaukee chose to disperse them throughout the parade lineup. We always were in the last half or further back and it was a task just to avoid stepping in the animal dropping and avoiding the accompanied stench enough that we could get a breath of fresh air. And then spending time having to clean your shoes.......well, it was just a really bizarre experience. The Schlitz Circus Parade could have easily been renamed the S&%Ts Circus Experience. If you can make it through that parade, you can make it through life. LOL

What did you do in the Corps? Brass Instructor, Corps Manager

The Milwaukee Circus Parade stopped in 2003 due to lack of sponsorship. However, 2009 is the 50th Anniversary of the World Circus Museum in Baraboo and I have heard they will bring the parade back for a one time deal this summer. The parade is a V E R Y big deal in the city. Traditionally, Ernest Borgnine has participated in the parade as one of the clowns. He stated he will do it again this year...he is 91 years old (really!!!).

I don't know if this is done elsewhere (I'm sure it is), but spectators draw circles in the streets and bet with each other whether "something" lands in their circle. Additional "bonus points" are given if someone marching in the parade steps in whatever has landed in your circle.

What did you do in the Corps? 2nd Sop

What years were you a Corps member? 1979

Best parade was the night time parade at Nationals in New Orleans. I think I just really liked evening parades. Doesn't seem like they have them anymore.

Ditto on the Harvard Milk Day parade, the glare was brutal but the carnival and free milk evened things out!

Another yucko one was the Chicago St. Patrick's Day parade, always cold& windy and never anywhere near a full corps.

Another good one was Memorial Day in Norwood, right past my street!

I feel very nostalgic - better quit!!!

Happy weekend.

What did you do in the Corps? Guard

Penny, you are right. Night time parades were fun too. The VFW parades seemed to be at night normally. I remember New York (1958), Detroit (1960), Minneapolis (1962), Chicago (1965) being at night. Cooler, less hassle. Better crowds too.

The Norwood Park parades were good for several reasons:

. because so many of us were from that area, there were a LOT of family and neighborhood friends who came to watch!

. the parades were very popular in the town and a lot of people came to watch

. These were SHORT parades! Yay!

What did you do in the Corps? drummer: later: Quartermaster, assistant drum instructor

What years were you a Corps member? 1958- 63

I agree with the sentiment that night parades were fun. I enjoyed marching or being with a group that marched in those parades. The most memorable ones were VFW Nationals parades, the Orange Bowl Parade and night parades at Disney World.

What did you do in the Corps? Brass Instructor, Corps Manager

Didn't we march the 68 Democratic Convention - evening parade (The police are not here to create dis order, they're here to preserve dis order)?

What did you do in the Corps? Drum, Instruct

What years were you a Corps member? 61-69

That must have been a real trip doing the 68 political convention parade where the protestors were so inflamed that it turned into a riot. That was a pretty tense year. The year we had the riots in Detroit and they burned 20% of the city and hundreds of people were killed. The town never made it back after that. It has been sliding down a very steep hill ever since.

What did you do in the Corps? Brass Instructor, Corps Manager

Yes, I marched more than my fair share of Detroit Parades, although they did have parades that weren't so nasty and were fun, like the Thanksgiving parade that was televised for like 25 years.

It's really no laughing matter because to this day, we still deal with the aftermath of the 67 & 68 riots. Much of that part of the city still is vacant or under developed, and the population which at the time was well over 2 million is now slightly over 800,000, with no end to the mass exodus from the city in sight. It's really a tragic consequence of how people get out of hand, riot and let a once large and proud city deteriorate to the point of a 3rd world country. The only thing missing is the goats and livestock in the streets.

You really have to live in this area to fully understand how bad it has become, with a mayor tossed out of office (like Blago) as early as 4 months ago and now spending time, after a plea bargain for 10 felony counts, in the county jail. Detroit is the perfect example of a socialistic society run by corrupt politicians, liberals and democrats. It could be the poster child city for our new President's master plan of redistribution of wealth. The state has been pouring money into the city of Detroit for decades, but nothing ever changes and only seems to get worse with the amount of graft and corruption. The only thing that Detroit has that is first class is it's sports stadiums and brand new casinos, which are among the best in the world. A sad commentary for a once very proud and productive city.

What did you do in the Corps? Brass Instructor, Corps Manager

I respectfully disagree with you about Detroit' econominc status. Detroit never had a chance after the steel mills closed in Gary and the decline in the 'top' three automakers are killing chances of revival. There is hope for a dead city but regardless of the money poured in, Detroit is dead.

I was in Chicago for the 1968 riots and was a dumb enough kid to go to the west side of downtown with three other dummies to see the riots in person(April 5). The news media 'claimed' the Chicago Police were side by side with fireman-protecting them. There weren't any cops in sight, nor cop cars within a block of firefighters. The firefighters were scared to see us white boys. The only cop cars we saw were parked in front of jewelry stores and pawn shops, all with the alarm going off.

A recent city, NewOrleans, spent more money getting the Superdome operable before the wards hardest hit during Katrina are at best, slummier than they were.

Detroit resembles the football team they fielded this year and no amount of money will make it better. When you can purchase a home for $10 it doesn't take an economic wiz to figure out the city is becoming a dumping ground.

It's very unfortante for such a great city, others are heading that way. We all expected better.

I agree with Ralph about both New Orleans and Detroit. I've spent a lot of time in New Orleans post Katrina and outside the French Quarter and Canal Street the place is almost as sad as Detroit. Like Detroit where all the commerce takes place in the suburbs that border the city most of the commerce (and jobs) have moved up river to Baton Rouge.

What years were you a Corps member? Cadets 1959 through 1961 Imperials 1962 through 1966

More than just the steel mills in Gary going down affected Detroit. There are three steel mills still operating in Detroit with four others in the suburbs shut down. Things that negatively affected Detroit were: The unions at auto plants protecting employees who were less than productive, flight to the suburbs because of excessive taxation in the city, a lazy and corrupt police force that let crime get way out of control, and most of all racist mayors and political leaders who were incompetent and always on the take. Total Incompetence in every level of government and society is the major factor out of all of those. You have to live in the area to really see what has and is happening. The Lions have nothing to do with it or it with them. If that were the case, explain the Red Wings success.

There are many reasons that a large thriving metropolis goes on a spiral downward toward economic ruin. The biggest problem Detroit had was 30 years of Coleman Young as a really racist and incompetent mayor, who did nothing but antagonize the racial issue for his own benefit to keep his constituency fired up and get him re-elected so many times. All this while the people with the real money moved to the suburbs, and 2 out of 3 corrupt mayors that followed him equally divisive and incompetent. Ralph is right in one point, Detroit for all intents and purposes is dead as a major city, which is a tragedy. But it's a condition that has been brought on by it's own leaders and citizens. Anyone with intelligence and money is in the burbs, which are very nice and not unlike those in Chicago.

OK, I'm done picking on the town that is 15 minutes from my door.

What did you do in the Corps? Brass Instructor, Corps Manager

I would have to say the worst parade was Appleton, WI, due to length and it being very hot.
The one I enjoyed was St. Patty's even tho it was cold and miserable it was pretty awesome to be on TV as a kid and have your friends see you.
And if it weren't for the Norwood Park parade, which I believe started at Onahan school (located directly across the street from where I grew up) I would have never found the Imperials.

Not a BEST or a WORST ... but strange. We marched in a parade in Schaumburg in the early 1960s. This wasn't in bad weather (hot or rainy) but the parade was a bit long. The strange part was that we seemed to march forever with NOBODY WATCHING.

Yep, farmland and empty fields. (This was before Schaumburg was developed. No Woodfield Mall then!). Made us wonder WHY we were doing this!

Does anyone else remember this?

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-63

Don't laugh, I marched that parade in Schaumburg 3 times. Once with Kilts and then 2 times when I was on staff with the Guardsmen. IT WAS LONG!!!! And, you are right, nobody was there. At least we got paid. LOL

Reminds me of that certain ethnic parade that we always talked about. You know, the one where the corps stands still and plays while the crowd marches by. Guess you had to be there. LOL

What did you do in the Corps? Brass Instructor, Corps Manager

Best and worse - Skokie parade in the 70's. We played for 3 people and it was always a stop and stop and maybe go because of the Skokie Swift train.

Also the a 'best' now because the streets are full of people and there are typically many drum corps in it. So it is nice to see and has been a tradition until last year when my daughter decided parades are boring. (She is right)

I can also remember the 'gotta do two parades in a day' and racing from one to the other OR the 'gotta slit the corps in half parades' because they overlapped. Of course I cannot remember where they all were and usually followed by get to a show at night.

What did you do in the Corps? Color Guard Rifle

What years were you a Corps member? 1973 to 1979

Yeah, those multiple parade/show days were always fun. The most I ever did was the 4th of July in 1976. We marched three parades (split the corps for two of them, then marched one together) and did two shows - one in the afternoon after the parades and one late in the evening. They actually announced the scores for both shows at the second one, because you couldn't stay once the first one was done!

And I remember feeling strange in 1980 with Spirit, because we only marched ONE parade all year - at Disney World! And NOTHING on the 4th of July.

What did you do in the Corps? Snare; Drum Major; Drum Instructor/Arranger

What years were you a Corps member? 1970-73; 78-79

Changed my mind, I have a new best parade. The one at Great America. Can't beat it, early parade and then the rest of the day in the park for FREE!! Back then that was a huge treat.

What Bob mentions relative to the 4th of July (3 parades, contest and exhibition) was kind of the norm on 4th of July's. The times that the 4th occurred on Monday were really hectic. Usually a show on Friday night, Saturday parade and show, Sunday parade and show and Monday--three parades show and exhibition at Park Ridge. Almost always had three parades on the 4th. I don't every recollect splitting the corps though. Usually parades were close enough together to so there was enough time.

Memorial day could be hectic as well. Billy Caldwell, Norwood Park and Downtown. We also had the first show in Kenosha at that time.

What years were you a Corps member? Cadets 1959 through 1961 Imperials 1962 through 1966

I remember those split parades that Cathy and Bob are talking about, but there was a definite purpose in dividing the Corps and as usual it was money. There were parades in Deerfield and Highland Park with both offering five hundred dollars, but as always their was a problem as they both had the same step off time. The easy solution was to divide the Corps, giving them less for their money, thus saving on additional buses and making twice as much. We also ended up with an additional bonus from the Deerfield parade. We were in a park along Deerfield Road and there was a drum corps from out of state forming next to us. Their members appeared to be much older than ours and they numbered around 65 to 70. The were very sure of themselves and began mouthing off about how badly they were going to beat us in the show that night. To the Imps credit they bit their tongues and the only reaction was one member saying in a calm voice, "We'll see". I don't know if under ordinary circumstances if they could have beat us, but the look on their faces when they saw the full Corps said they were beat before taking the field. It was one of the few times, while I was involved in drum corps, that I saw one unit so high and elated and the other so totally devasted by a minor meeting prior to a parade that it made a 25 point difference in the scores.
I wished may times I could find more parades with those kind of results.

What did you do in the Corps? Cadet manager 1975 Imperial manager 1976-1979

What did you do in the Corps? Hornline

What years were you a Corps member? Cadets: 1976-78, A Corps: 1979-83