December 25, 2024
Local News

DeKalb High School Marching Barbs leave for Ireland

By KATRINA J
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On Sunday, March 12, DeKalb High School Band Director waves a final goodbye, as he is the last person to board the school buses headed to O'Hare International Airport. One hundred and two members of the DHS Marching Barbs and 11 chaperones filled three school buses; their luggage and their instruments each had their own bus. Once in Chicago, the group will board a plane for an eight-day trip to Ireland, where they will perform in the St. Patrick's Festival Parade in Dublin on Friday, March 17. (Katrina J)

DeKALB – Around 4 p.m. Sunday, three buses full of people departed the DeKalb High School parking lot. Traveling with them was one bus of luggage and another full of instruments.

The people on the buses included 102 members of the DHS Marching Barbs and 11 chaperones.

The buses headed to O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, where the group will travel to Ireland for an eight-day trip. The group will be joined in Ireland by 37 parents and family members who will travel separately as part of a companion trip.

The DeKalb High School Marching Barbs have been invited to appear Friday in the 2017 St. Patrick’s Festival Parade in Dublin. The parade is part of Ireland’s four-day St. Patrick’s Festival.

The St. Patrick’s Festival Parade will start at 7 a.m. local time Friday. The parade will feature bands and music ensembles from Ireland, the U.S., France, Germany, Switzerland and the Bahamas competing to win awards in several categories.

The parade route is more than a mile and a half long, and the band will march in front of the president of Ireland and the lord mayor of Dublin. More than half a million people view the parade live, and millions watch it on TV.

The parade can be seen anywhere in the world through an online livestream, offered on the festival's free app available to download at www.stpatricksfestival.ie/connect/app.

A viewing party will be held in the DeKalb High School auditorium the day of the parade. Doors will open at 6:30 a.m., the parade will begin at 7 a.m.

On Thursday, the band will perform a free concert outdoors at Titanic Belfast, an exhibition with more than nine galleries highlighting the story of the Titanic. On Saturday, the band will participate in a joint concert with the Finglas Concert Band in Dublin.

In addition to their performances, the group also will see famous Irish sites, including the Blarney Stone and Kilkenny Castle.

“It is an educational trip with cultural and musical education,” band director Steve Lundin said. “We will be doing some really exciting performances, nothing like what we do at home. Some students have never experienced the world outside of DeKalb or Chicago. Some have never been on a plane or abroad before. I’m excited to see how much they can learn about the world.”