The sounds of high school marching bands will return to Trenton for the Missouri Days Marching Festival after a year’s absence. Following a virtual competition in 2020 due to COVID, the big Missouri Day Marching Festival returns live on October 16th to Trenton, and officials expect a tremendous showing.
Sharing the celebration of Missouri’s Bicentennial theme, this year’s Marching Festival will once again feature marching bands from across the mid-west with competitions in Parade, Indoor Auxiliary, Indoor Percussion, and Field Show. Bands will again be divided according to Missouri State High School Activities guidelines into classifications and compete in each of the areas of competition per their enrollments.
Awards will be presented to bands in all categories per class, and a final sweepstakes award will be presented to the band scoring the most cumulative points of competitions.
For the first time, bands who compete in the parade will not only be judged by festival adjudicators on their parade performance but in addition, a cash prize will be presented as selected by the designated Trenton Rotary Club judges who sponsor the Parade. That band will receive a $500.00 cash prize to be awarded to their Instrumental Music Department.
Separate Parade judges are chosen by the Rotary Club to recognize winners in various categories, including youth, business, religious and organizational floats, antiques cars and tractors, equestrians, and finally, the “Spirit of Missouri Day,” which all entries are eligible to receive. Cash prizes of different amounts are awarded to those winners. The recipient of the Rotary Club-sponsored cash award is separate from adjudication taking place for the Missouri Day Marching Festival and will not determine the winner of any marching festival awards.
Entries for the 2021 Missouri Days Marching Festival are currently being accepted on the Missouri Days Marching Festival website.
