Southern Indiana High School Marching Band Invited to Perform at Indy 500 Festival Parade

On Sunday, May 26, 2024, more than 300,000 fans will descend up Indianapolis and fill the Motor Speedway to witness the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500. I'm not here to tell you about the race, though, I want to let you know about a special event the day before.

The 500 Festival and Parade

The city of Indianapolis begins the celebration and the 500 Festival on May 1st, and provides several events in the days and weeks leading up to the "greatest spectacle in racing." One of the original 500 Festival events takes place the day before the race. On Saturday, May 25th, downtown Indy will host the AES 500 Paradeindi...

Evansville Will Be Represented in Naptown

Organizers of the 500 Parade have invited 15 lucky bands from around the country to perform, and one of those bands is from right here in Evansville. Congratulations to the Marching Wildcats of Mater Dei High School, who will not only perform for the thousands of fans along the parade route, but for the million or so that will be watching the national broadcast. What an honor!

READ MORE: This Indiana School is the #2 Ranked High School and Charter School in America

Other Indiana Marching Bands Will Toot Their Horns

Several Hoosier bands will participate in this year's parade, along with a few from other parts of the country...

• Purdue All-American Marching Band, Purdue University (West Lafayette, Ind.)
• Indianapolis Public Schools All City Marching Band (Indianapolis, Ind.)
• Indiana All-Star Marching Band, National Band Association (Indianapolis, Ind.)
• 38th Infantry Division Band, Indiana National Guard (Indianapolis, Ind.)
• Speedway 500 Regiment, Speedway High School (Speedway, Ind.)
• Sound of Brownsburg Marching Band, Brownsburg High School (Brownsburg, Ind.)
• Spirit of Muncie Marching Band, Muncie Central High School (Muncie, Ind.)
• Golden Pride Marching Band, Washington Community Schools (Washington, Ind.)
• The Pride of DeSoto Central Marching Band, DeSoto Central High School (Southaven, Miss.)
• The Grand Ledge Marching Band, Grand Ledge High School (Grand Ledge, Mich.)
• Western Marching Panthers, Western High School (Russiaville, Ind.)
• Westfield Marching Band, Westfield High School (Westfield, Ind.)
• Pendleton Heights Marching Band, Pendleton Heights High School (Pendleton, Ind.)
• United States Marine Marching Band, Marine Corps (San Diego, Cali.)

Parade festivities are scheduled to begin at 11:45 ET with the parade itself starting at noon. Of course, you're welcome to attend, but you must purchase a ticket. If you'd like to watch from the comfort of your home, the 500 Parade will be streamed nationally on Peacock.