Fort High band braves blizzard

No matter how you look at it, a bus ride from Fort Frances to Calgary, Alta. is a long trip. But for the Fort High band, that took on extra meaning.
After stopping in sunny Swift Current in southwestern Saskatchewan for a snack on their way to Calgary, the band crossed the border into Alberta and saw things change (and not just the quality of the highways).
The skies became darker, the wind picked up, and the highway was littered with tumbleweed. Soon, the snow would start falling and as the bus passed a sign indicating Calgary was just 105 km away, it soon became clear the thick, heavy wet snow wasn’t going to let up.
They’d been on the road since 6 o’clock the night before (April 25). It was already 1 p.m. and they had a dinner theatre to be at by 6 p.m., but Mother Nature (or Old Man Winter) had other plans for the band members.
That last 100 km would take eight hours to cover—thanks largely to sitting stationary for five of those.
“We had snacks and movies so they amused themselves,” said band director John Dutton.
The band was on its bi-annual road trip. This year, the trip took them to British Columbia to play for schools, senior citizen centres, and open markets.
Calgary was their first destination en route west. “Once we got past there, the weather was beautiful,” Dutton said.
Even the soggy spring in B.C. let up for the weary travellers, who numbered 60-plus strong. According to Dutton, it had rained on the coast for 27 days straight until they arrived—and they didn’t see a drop until the morning they left.
The band made stops in Banff and Lake Louise before spending their second night in Invermere, near Radium Hot Springs. They had planned on having three concerts there at one time.
“We didn’t play in Invermere and we had three [concerts] booked,” said Dutton. “We had concerts cancelled because they were concerned with SARS.”
He noted that even before they left Fort Frances, some of the concerts they initially had planned fell through because of the concern around the outbreak in southern Ontario.
“Some of the school boards [in B.C.] weren’t allowing visitors,” he said.
Still, the band ended up playing seven concerts in their western swing. “The best ones were the outdoors ones,” Dutton said, adding, “We had pigeons attacking us.”
The best location, according to Dutton, was the Granville Market on Granville Island—right across from the Expo ’86 location. He said they performed in the market square there and had a rather large audience to play to.
He added it was beautiful weather to play under—even forcing them to wear their sunglasses as they played and giving them sunburns.
The band also played at an outdoor market in Victoria, both of which they had to book ahead because the space is used for busking and street performing.
“When we were in Vernon, we played for the music students in their school, then they held a jazz concert for our kids,” Dutton recalled.
“I think the kids had fun,” he concluded. “They got a great experience.”
The students also performed for a senior citizens’ centre in Kamloops, spent two nights in Kelowna, and played in White Rock near Surrey.
“It was pretty smooth,” Dutton said of the trip despite the rough start. “I was proud of the way they performed.”
On the way home, the band made a stop at the world famous West Edmonton Mall. He said some of the kids went to the water park, others shopped, and there was “one bungee jumper. Not me!”
As is tradition, the next trip—slated for March, 2005—will be an international one.
“We’re thinking about Paris, France in two years,” Dutton remarked. “I’ll start making plans before the end of this school year.”
He said a trip like that will need about $200,000 in raised funds to be affordable. He said the goal is to make it so finances don’t keep students from attending and that everyone be able to go.
The last European trip saw more than 90 students go. Dutton noted that in “International years,” students tend to hang on to play a little longer.