4th of July

We spent this weekend up in Cedarburg, WI, visiting Damian & Sharon.  Sean and Natale came over for the afternoon on Saturday, and we even got to chat on Skype with Bonnie and Shelby for a while.  (Shelby was a bit puzzled by the new people, but did like their dog, Sawyer.)

This morning we went out to watch the Cedarburg 4th of July parade.  It was a full hour and a half with lots of participants and bunches of candy thrown out for the kids along the route.  There were a lot of fire engines, social groups (churches, scouts, etc.), community groups (high school soccer/football/basketball clubs), political groups (politicians, party officials, and even Tea Party representatives!)  and, of course, military and vererans' groups.  We all wished there were a few more bands, but the Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps finished off the parade in fine style.  Afterwards, we walked down to the park where we had lunch and listened to the Scouts put on a 45 minute concert. 

The Scouts are an all-male drum & bugle corps with a history affiliated through the Boy Scouting movement -- hence the name "Scouts".  They hold auditions in November and chose 150 members. This year they came from 27 different states.  They get together for practice once a month from January through May, and then begin "spring training" around Memorial Day.  Spring training consists four weeks of 12-hour-a-day practices learning the Corps' repertoire for the summer, practicing their marching drills, and basically getting into shape for the coming competitions.  They are now in the middle of an 8-week tour of the country where they will compete against another 15 or so national corps in several dozen competitions.  During that time the Scouts will travel 15,000 miles.  The tour will culminate at the Drum and Bugle Corps International (DCI) World Championships which will be held this year in Indianapolis August 10th-14th.