Drumline competition shines at Christmas parade

Some of the thousands of people at Calexico Christmas Parade on Saturday said they loved most the marching bands that took part in the annual celebration.

Mark Sanchez said, “I like it when the bands play from high schools. That’s my favorite part.”

With so many students participating from Imperial Valley and Mexicali schools in the parade, there’s bound to be a family member in one of them.

“I like all the bands from the schools. They show Calexico, the students and everything,” Antonio Robles said.

They like the energy and excitement the bands project. And they love the Christmas parade floats among entries, which numbered over 70 countywide.

City Council Member Bill Hodge said, “We have reached out to other cities, like El Centro and Heber, and we’re happy that they have joined us in the parade.”

Sanchez said he liked that the parade brought families from the area together.

Marching bands definitely seemed to have a special place in the city’s Christmas celebration. So much that this year Calexico had its first drumline competition. It featured several drumline groups from Imperial Valley and Mexicali to the delight of the large crowd at Rockwood Park after the parade had ended.

The Calexico Bulldogs and the Heber Hawks drumlines won first place in their drumline competition divisions.