More than two dozen high school marching bands will compete in Macon on Saturday at the seventh annual Macon City of Maples Marching Festival, hosted by the Macon Marching Tigers.
The day opens with a 9 a.m. parade and ends with awards at 8:05 p.m. at Hugh Dunn Field, according to the festival's schedule for visiting band directors. Jamie Baker, director of bands at Macon High School, shared the schedule by email.
Parade times are set four minutes apart, from Macon's exhibition at 9 a.m. to about 10:40 a.m., according to the schedule.
"The best viewing for the parade would be around the Elks as that is where most of the judges are located," Baker said. "The last judge is on the corner by Maples Rep Theater."
All traffic and parked cars must be off the parade route by 6:30 a.m., Baker said. Barricades and safety cones will slow traffic and warn of congested areas, and volunteers will help direct cars to parking areas. Baker asked drivers to slow down that morning and to be patient and kind to volunteers.
Indoor auxiliary and drumline competitions run from 11 a.m. to about 5 p.m., according to the schedule. Indoor events are free, Baker said.
The field show costs $5 per person, Baker said. It is on the high school's new turf field, according to the festival website. The show starts at 12:45 p.m., according to the schedule, and Macon closes it in exhibition at 7:45 p.m.
Baker said the field show will also be livestreamed on YouTube. The district's official channel there is Macon Activities.
Awards for Classes 1A through 3A are set for 4:30 p.m. and for Classes 4A and 5A for 8:05 p.m., both at Hugh Dunn Field, according to the schedule. Bands are classed by school size under Missouri State High School Activities Association standards, according to the festival website.
Moberly, Kirksville, Salisbury, and Westran are among the bands scheduled for the field show. Quincy Senior High School of Quincy, Illinois, and Washburn Rural High School of Topeka, Kansas, are also on the schedule.
More information is at maconmarchingfestival.com and on the Macon Band Department's Facebook page.