ENID, OK - The Tri-State parades have been moved to October. This years marching date is Saturday, October 1, 2022. This will be a parade and field marching contest, still following the OSSAA format with no preliminaries.
Traditions, budgets and marching has changed over the years. Tri-State has tried to stay relevant and they are now adapting to the fact that bands do most of their marching in the fall.
This parade move is most likely permanent. Most band directors quit marching around Christmas and start concert music. The marching contest and the parades will be combined in October.
The Tri-State parade will be in the morning and the field marching in the afternoon. Marching in October has been successful and the board wanted to try this move with the parade. If successful this change could move the traditional parade from Spring to Fall.
Marching bands from around the region will participate in the Tri-State Music Festival Parade beginning at 10am Saturday, October 1 around the downtown square.
Then beginning at 1:30pm, the bands will compete at Selby Stadium as a tune up for upcoming District Marching Contests.
Enid High's Big Blue Band will play in both the parade and the marching contest.
Tri-State History
About eight or ten bands got together for the first Phillips Band Day in 1932. Band Day had drawn bands from Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas for the first event so it was unanimously decided to call the new event Tri-State.
In 1933 Enid had its first real Tri-State Band Festival. What began as a one day affair, as first planned, turned into a four day affair.
In 1934, Tri-State drew 6,000 band members to Enid. The town was bulging with kids. It was thought this was about the largest crowd that could be drawn, but this was outdone in the years to follow.
