National spotlight shines on Havre High band

Crowds estimated at more than 100,000 people watched as the Havre High School Marching Band paraded Monday through downtown Washington.

The band had raised money to pay for their trip to the nation’s capital after they were shocked earlier this year to learn that they had been nominated by Gov. Steve Bullock to represent Montana and selected by the national committee to march in the National Independence Day Parade.

The band members were decked out in new uniforms for the festivities. This was only the second time they had worn the uniforms — the first was in a dress rehearsal in Havre last Tuesday.

In the morning, there were fears that the mile-long parade would be called off because of rain, The threatening weather held off, though, and the parade continued as scheduled.

The parade was the highlight of a three-day visit to the nation’s capital that included educational visits to the World War II, Korea and Vietnam war memorials and several other educational museums. There were also somber moments as the students visited the Holocaust Museum and the grave of President John F. Kennedy.

Students wrote updates on their activities on the Havre Daily News Facebook page and on @HavreDaily on Twitter.

The Hi-Line Living page in Friday’s Havre Daily News will tell the story of the parade in words and photos.