Arcadia Chamber of Commerce - The Connection to the Business Community

68^TH Annual Arcadia Festival of Bands – Theme: Return of the Bands

The 68^th Annual Arcadia Festival of Bands (AFOB) will take place Saturday, November 20, 2021.

Arcadia, CA – The Arcadia Festival of Bands has grown to be one of the premiere band reviews in Southern California and is the longest-running event of its kind in the whole state. This sustained success is due to the continued support provided by the City of Arcadia, the Fire and Police Departments, the Arcadia Unified School District, Santa Anita Race Track and local businesses. The parade simply would not happen without their cooperation.

The all-day event consists of the Band Review starting at 9 a.m. on Baldwin Avenue, south of Huntington Drive, with the Dignitary Parade leading off at 8:40 a.m. The Percussion Festival starts at 11 a.m. at Salter Stadium at Arcadia High School followed by the Band Review Awards Ceremony at 1:45 p.m.

The evening field tournament is the 6A Division Championship for the Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association (SCSBOA). Currently scheduled to start at 5 p.m. at Citrus College in Glendora, CA followed by the Awards Ceremony at 8:30 p.m.

“While the pandemic might have affected last year’s parade schedule, it only helped to strengthen the band’s musicianship and determination,” said Kevin Sherrill, Band and Percussion Director at Arcadia High School. “The return of the bands is happening and it’s going to be our best parade yet.”

Our 2021 Grand Marshals are Fred and Maryann Stevens. Not only are Fred and Maryann hard workers, often unseen yet strongly felt, but they also guide and mentor incoming students and parents. When son Alex joined percussion in 2008, Fred immediately became a Percussion Pit Dad and started 8 years of being a Music Camp Chaperone for a week in Idyllwild. His wise guidance of many of our youth was most beneficial. Before long he was leading as Arcadia Music Club President and Arcadia Festival of Bands (AFOB) Baldwin Ops Co-Chair. As a chaperone for a band trip to Florida, he further exerted his positive influence. Also, son Max served as band president in his 2016 senior year. Looking to the future, Fred has begun digitizing stacks of AFOB notebooks for easier, compact access.

Maryann’s invaluable contributions include being Merchandise Chair and Senior Tribute Chair. Her three years as Uniforms Co-Chair were real dedication as well as being a Music Camp Chaperone. When she created our Facebook page and spent 3 years managing it, the club’s communication was vastly improved. She spent a couple of years on the Board as VP for Band and brought profits as AFOB Publicity Chair.

Rarely do we find a couple where both are so involved and work so well together complementing their strengths. But, these two fundraised as co-chairs of our annual Spaghetti Dinner and also led AFOB. You could get your Rose Parade seating tickets from them or know your child was safe with these chaperones to Hawaii and Logan in northern CA. These are just some of the highlights of their dedication. The Arcadia School District recognized them with the prized Golden Apple Award in 2016. Put these two together and you have an unstoppable team who always have fun being fabulous.