By KARI BLURTON
Hays Post

Seventy-six trombones, clarinets, drums, tubas and more left Hays Middle School before dawn Wednesday to lead the big parade at the Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson this morning.

The seventh- and eighth-graders are following a more than 20-year tradition at HMS and traveling to Hutchinson to march in the annual State Fair parade.

Hays Middle School band director Marcus Bishop said the students will be judged alongside more than 60 bands from across the state on their marching and musical skills, something Bishop said is not as easy as it looks.

“It’s always a challenge for some kids to memorize music and, when you think about the memorization, playing all your notes, getting your left foot to come down on count one and getting everyone in line, I have counted at least 10 things the brains are having to do all at once,”Bishop said. “Talk about multi-tasking.”

The students have been preparing for the parade since the beginning of the school year — a performance he sees as inspiring for his students.

“It motivates our kids to get better, which is our desire in everything we do, be it sports, be it our math classes, whatever it is, that we get better everyday,” Bishop said.

After a full morning of competition, Bishop said the students also get the chance to attend the Kansas State Fair in the afternoon and will return to Hays on Wednesday evening.