Ever since the ninth running of the Indianapolis 500 in 1919 when Purdue Director of Bands, Paul Spotts Emrick, formed the initial relationship with the Indy 500, the Purdue "All-American" Marching Band has proudly been an integral part of the race day festivities.  The Purdue "All-American" Marching Band is the official band of the Indy 500 and performs much of the music for the opening ceremonies.  In 1957, the Indy 500 Festival Parade was born and the Purdue "All-American" Marching Band performed in that as the main event.  Since then, many high school marching bands and other parade attractions have been added to the Indy 500 Festival Parade, but as the official band of the Indy 500, the Purdue "All-American" Marching Band has always remained the first and main event of the parade.

The Indy 500 Memorial Day weekend is always a busy one for the Purdue band members participating in the Indy 500.  Participation is voluntary with many band members traveling great distances at their own expense to take part in the weekend's exciting events.  Most people arrive at Butler University in Indianapolis on Friday evening of Memorial Day weekend where the Purdue Band is allowed to stay in Butler's residence halls for the weekend.  Saturday morning starts early with an 8:00 AM practice in the Butler University residence hall parking lot where the band rehearses Indy 500 music and a brief refresher of parade marching.  Following morning practice, the band changes into uniform and eats lunch at the Atherton Union before boarding our buses to depart for the Indy 500 Festival Parade in downtown Indianapolis.  We proceed downtown with our own police escort to ensure that the Purdue Band, as the first main event in the parade, arrives on-time to our parade staging area.  The parade never fails to be a grueling one when you combine a full-body, heavy wool uniform and Purdue's high-energy marching style with Indiana summer heat and humidity amplified by the hot asphalt of the downtown Indy streets.  After the parade, we return to Butler to relax or go sight-seeing in Indy for several hours before getting showered and dressed up in formal attire for our annual Indy 500 Banquet in the Atherton Union.  At the banquet, band members who have participated in three Indy 500's receive their own personal mugs.  Band members who have participated in four Indy 500's receive Purdue Band blankets with their names embroidered on them.  Traditionally, band members receiving their blankets give a few words about what their plans after graduation will be.

Sunday morning is race day morning and it starts out extremely early for the members of the Purdue "All-American" Marching Band with a rousing wake-up call from Pam's whistle and the drumline at 4:00 AM.  Breakfast is provided at 5:00 AM in the Atherton Union and band members are on the bus in full uniform by 6:00 AM when the busses depart.  We reach the rally point at a nearby mall where we meet up with our police escort before proceeding to the racetrack.  Around 7:30 or 8:00 AM we get off our busses and have a short rehearsal and warm-up just outside the track.  Usually following some more down-time, we group up and walk out to turn three of the racetrack.  This is where we start our march to the finish/starting line and the pit area where we perform the opening ceremonies.  We usually reach the pit area around 10:30 AM and play every now and then until the opening ceremonies begin.  Some years we have not been allowed to play very much and those race managers usually get fired.  The exciting thing about being in the pit area is we are right next to where all the celebrities and drivers make their appearances.  Many members of the Purdue band have gotten their picture taken with some very famous people.  After performing the opening ceremonies of the race, the band walks back to the busses to change out of uniform and turn uniforms in.  Once changed, we are given tickets to get in the race and get to go see some of the race from our seats on turn three of the track.  In order to avoid horrendous traffic following the race, the band always leaves early at lap 175 and returns to Butler to check out of our rooms and head home.

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