The city of Tracy threw the annual Holiday Parade in downtown on Dec. 5, and invited Tracy High’s band. This marked the last marching performance for the band, as their marching season ends along with the end of the semester.

Marching in unity, it became a crucial last moment for the seniors who only had this last marching experience to hold onto.

This has always been an energetic, festive event for the Tracy band. Seniors got to march in the parade in Santa hats and the lower classmen in elf hats.

“The Holiday Parade is such a fun event that focuses more on the community and the music,” band director Jeff Kumagai said.

“The band got to decorate the instuments and put lights on the uniforms,” senior Jharen Rivera said. “It’s fun for the band and the whole city.”

“The Tracy Holiday Parade is not like any other band performance,” senior Deena Morrar said. “It is not judged, it’s just a way for the band to connect and have fun with the community.”

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The parade gave the seniors one last marching performance together, and it meant a lot to each of them.

“The Holiday Parade gave me one last chance to march and play with a group of people that I’ve come to love and grow close with over the past four years,” Morrar said.

“I’ve been performing in the holiday parade since freshman year,” Taruc said. “Knowing that this was my last performance, it made it really special marching downtown in my hometown for the final time.”

“It was such a reflective experience,” Morrar said. “The rush of the crowd, as we walked past the Grand Theater, was absolutely incredible and gave me such a welcoming closure for these past four years.”

“It was my last Holiday Parade, and it gave me one last unified event with my band family,” Rivera said.

“It was bittersweet to watch my first full group of seniors march their last march,” Kumagai said, “but it was so exciting to see them taking it all in and having fun.”

“They always say that you’ll never forget the first sound that you hear from your students as a band directors,” Kumagai said, “but these seniors nearly shocked me with the rough sound that came from them as freshmen.”

It is clear that the seniors have formed a tight bond with Kumagai and band has left a lasting impression on the lives of seniors.

“Band really helped me become more social, as I was able to meet new people and make long lasting friendships,” Taruc said. “Band basically composed my four years at Tracy High.”

“I could never think of my high school career without thinking of band,” Rivera said. “It’s a once in a lifetime experience

Looking back, I don’t think I would have met my full potential in high school without band.”