When you watch a parade, frequently you don’t think past the spectacle in front of you. However, the marching bands have had weeks of practice. Albert Lea High School Marching Band started practicing at the end of June. Except the color guard and drumline, who began three weeks earlier to memorize routines. Drumline has two cadences they have to know by memory for the Fourth of July parade and the color guard has to memorize an entire routine to perform at the parade. The Marching Band season for Albert Lea contains three Fourth of July parades: Albert Lea, Austin, and Blooming Prairie. After that, there is a one-day break before the final performance at Valleyfair. So next time you see a marching band just know that they have been practicing every day for three-plus hours and give them some extra cheers.