The Kenai Marching Band hosted Palmer and Wasilla on Saturday for the Second Annual Kenai Marching Showcase, which director Christian Stephanos said is just one step on the band’s journey this year to compete in the Bands of America Grand National Championships in Indianapolis.
Kenai was the third and final band to perform on Saturday, staging their 2025 production “Call of the Wild.” The piece features familiar tunes like “The Ecstasy of Gold” by Ennio Morricone — featured in 1966 spaghetti western “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” — as well as Vivaldi’s “Winter” and “Aurora Awakes” by John Mackey.
Stephanos said the band has been working on the performance since last year, and that it was meant to be a vehicle for the Kenai band to represent Alaska. Instead of more traditional marching band gear, the Kenai performers on Saturday were wearing red flannel.
Seniors Madeline Barrett and Natalie James, who both play mellophone, said Saturday’s showcase was the Kenai Marching Band’s first opportunity this year to present their work to the public. They said Saturday’s showing was only a taste of the larger performance — which will feature more music, more choreography and more elaborate uniforms.
Colony’s marching band, Thee Northern Sound, featured pop hits that symbolized resilience and individuality, according to announcements read at the start of their performance. Wasilla brought an electric guitar on the field for a performance bookended by excerpts from “The Black Parade” by My Chemical Romance.
It’s always special to gather the state’s largest marching bands in one place, Stephanos said. The bands get to mingle and learn from other students who share the same passions. In the Lower 48, where there’s a larger marching band presence, that would happen more often — “our kids don’t really get that out here.”
The Kenai band will be traveling south, to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis in November, to compete for the first time in the program’s history at the Bands of America Grand National Championships. Stephanos said they’ll be only the second band from Alaska to complete on that stage — after Colony a decade ago — and that they’ll be among more than 100 bands from across the nation.
To transport students — and their instruments — to Indiana takes a couple of thousand dollars each, Stephanos said, with a total projected cost for the trip of around $100,000. That’s why the band is holding multiple fundraisers “to give them the best experience and not break their bank in the process.”
The band is fundraising directly through a link on their Facebook page, “Kenai Bands,” and also launched during the showcase a “Flock-a-Friend” fundraiser where people can pay $25 to unleash a gaggle of plastic, Kardinal red flamingos on the lawn of a friend, family member or enemy of their choosing. Flamingo insurance, to protect a home from any possible flamingo incursions, costs $15. More information is available at the “Kenai Bands” Facebook page.
“It seems like the community is backing our band,” Stephanos said. “Which is great, because when you’re trying to do something that our school has never done before, we need that support.”
Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.
The Kenai Marching Band performs during the Second Annual Kenai Marching Showcase at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
The Kenai Marching Band performs during the Second Annual Kenai Marching Showcase at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
The Kenai Marching Band performs during the Second Annual Kenai Marching Showcase at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
The Kenai Marching Band performs during the Second Annual Kenai Marching Showcase at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
The Colony High School Marching Band performs during the Second Annual Kenai Marching Showcase at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
The Colony High School Marching Band performs during the Second Annual Kenai Marching Showcase at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
The Wasilla High School Marching Band performs during the Second Annual Kenai Marching Showcase at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
The Wasilla High School Marching Band performs during the Second Annual Kenai Marching Showcase at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
The Kenai Marching Band performs during the Second Annual Kenai Marching Showcase at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
