Festival of Bands Parade

Festival of Bands USA is excited to announce the return of its parade to beautiful downtown Sioux Falls this year on Saturday, October 3. The Festival first stepped off its parade on Philips Avenue 38 years ago. Since that time, Festival of Bands has grown into a premiere regional high school marching band event, drawing bands and thousands of spectators from multiple neighboring states and from across South Dakota. 

The Festival is hosted by five Sioux Falls high schools — Jefferson, Lincoln, O’Gorman, Roosevelt, and Washington — all of which will perform in exhibition in the parade. In addition, Superintendent of the Sioux Falls School District, Dr. Jamie Nold, will serve as this year's Grand Marshal, leading bands down Phillips Avenue from 13th to 6th Street while passing by many of Sioux Falls’ most well-known businesses.

After returning to DTSF last year, the Festival of Bands committee has been working closely with City planners and the Sioux Falls Police Department to provide another exciting, safe, and memorable experience for all the bands and spectators.

Following the parade, the festivities continue at Howard Wood Field, where dozens of bands will compete for top honors in the preliminary and finals field competitions. The competition begins at 10:45 am, and the Top Ten scoring bands from the day will compete in Finals beginning at 6:30 pm. In addition, each of the Sioux Falls host schools will perform their 2026 field shows as exhibition performances, along with special performances from local drumlines Groove and SuFuDu.

Line-up schedules for the 39th Annual Festival of Bands parade will be available soon at www.festivalofbands.com. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram for all the latest updates on this year’s Festival of Bands event!

About Festival of Bands USA

Festival of Bands USA is one of the Midwest’s largest and most celebrated high school marching band competitions, held annually on the first Saturday of October in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Founded and hosted by five local high school bands, the event brings together talented students from across South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska for a day of vibrant musical and visual performances.

The Festival features a full lineup of competitive parade and field band events, attracting thousands of spectators and fostering musical excellence, school pride, and community spirit. The organization is committed to providing a platform for music education, collaboration, and artistic achievement for youth throughout the region. For more information, visit www.festivalofbands.com.