Alexandria, Minnesota

Seven different bands have claimed the Grand Champion title in the Festival's 24-year history. Join us to see who rises to the top in 2009!

The 2009 Vikingland Band Festival Parade Marching Championship will be extra special as the Festival celebrates its 25th year milestone.

Future Dates:
June 27, 2010
June 26, 2011
Always the last Sunday
in June

CELEBRATING 25 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE!
The Vikingland Band Festival celebrates 25 Years in 2009 with the biggest lineup in eight years.

Photos are now online!
2009 PHOTO GALLERY
Relive the excitement of the 25th Annual Vikingland Band Festival parade marching championship. View 145 images in the 2009 photo gallery.

2009 PARADE RESULTS
Moderate temperatures and breezy winds greeted a fantastic slate of 22 marching bands during the 25th annual Festival. Waconia earned both Grand Champion and People's Choice honors. Sauk Rapids-Rice and Winona Cotter retired Class Champion flags this year after placing first in their class for three consecutive years. View 2009 results online or download the complete recap (PDF format).

FREE bonus DVD of aerial footage!
ORDER THE 2009 PARADE DVD
Fantastic aerial shots and multi-camera views make the Vikingland Band Festival DVD great. The television-style production features each band's performance along with highlights from the awards ceremony. New for 2009, you get a bonus DVD of unedited footage from the overhead camera. Each band's performance can be seen from the air, uncut, showcasing their formations as they march through the video recording area. Get details and order now at ExcellentMultimedia.com »

2009 PARADE ENTRIES
With 22 bands it's the Festival's biggest lineup in eight years! View the participating bands by class or in parade order with estimated step off times. Thanks to all the band directors who registered for the 2009 Festival.
• Alexandria Jefferson - Host
• Alexandria Alumni Band - Honor Band
• Albany
• Benson
• Bertha-Hewitt
• Elk River/Rogers/Zimmerman - 728 Cadets
• Fergus Falls
• Foley
• Henry Sibley
• Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg
• Long Prairie-Grey Eagle
• Mankato Lancers
• Montevideo/Yellow Medicine East - 212 Regiment
• New York Mills
• Osseo
• Park Center
• St. Cloud All-City
• St. Francis
• Sauk Rapids-Rice
• Waconia
• Willmar
• Winona Cotter

New for 2009!
NEW FORMULA TO DETERMINE CLASSES
Parades across Minnesota will be transitioning in 2009 to a new system for determining how bands are grouped into classes of competition. The system uses a formula that still uses school size as the primary component, but will now also factor in the band size. View details and examples »

ALEXANDRIA ALUMNI BAND RETURNING
Jefferson High School graduates: Make plans to perform with the Alexandria Alumni Marching Band. This will be the fourth time the band has assembled for the Vikingland Band Festival. As of June 22, registered members represent 28 graduating classes from 1957 to 2009! View details and register online »

GRAND MARSHAL ANNOUNCED
Ken Nelson, newly retired director of the Bertha-Hewitt Marching Band, will lead the 2009 parade as Grand Marshal. Nelson holds the distinction of being the only band director to appear in EVERY Vikingland Band Festival to date.

SUBMIT YOUR FAVORITE TRADITIONS
Do you know about Park Center's pre-parade "booster buffet"? Many wonderful traditions have developed around the Vikingland Band Festival. We've listed some of our favorites, and we invite you to tell us about YOUR favorites. More »

Festival Scenes: View past photo galleries »

EXPERIENCE THE FESTIVAL IN PERSON
Join the 20,000 spectators and 2,000 performers for this spectacular event. Look here for the parade route and maps of Alexandria. More »

2009 PLATINUM SPONSORS



GOLD SPONSORS
EMBARQ
Holiday Station Stores
Aagard

SILVER SPONSORS
Alexandria Technical College
Pete's County Market
Martinson Insurance
Knights of Columbus
Sertoma
Gardonville
HPS Rentals
Indigo Signworks
Marching.com
Bernick's Pepsi
Alexandria Golf Cars
West Central Sanitation
VFW Post #936

FESTIVAL FEATURED IN MAGAZINE
Alexandria's Vikingland Band Festival is featured prominently in the latest issue of Halftime Magazine, a glossy full color publication with a circulation of 10,000 that promotes the sights and spirit of marching bands across the country. The magazine article covers unique forms of marching activity and the Vikingland Band Festival is noted for its pioneering role as a "bands-only" parade. Read the article at HalftimeMag.com »

PAST RESULTS
Did you know that 82 different bands have appeared in the Vikingland Band Festival since its inception in 1985? Step into the Festival archives to access scores and participants from previous Festivals.

DID YOU KNOW...?
Three bands have appeared in every Vikingland Band Festival. Congrats and thanks to Bertha-Hewitt, Long Prairie and Alexandria for this long run.

Including 2009 appearances, these bands have appeared at least 15 times: Fergus Falls (22), Litchfield (22), Park Center (21), Waconia (21), Henry Sibley (20), Mankato Lancers (20), Winona Cotter (20), St. Cloud All-City (19), Albert Lea (16), Osseo (16).