Lakeside High School's Marching Band Wows Dragon Con Spectators

Photo by Jill Mills

For the fifth year in a row, DeKalb County's Lakeside High School Marching Viking Band was the only high school band invited to participate in the annual Dragon Con parade. “This is the largest parade in the area, enjoyed by tens of thousands of people both in person and via a live TV broadcast. We were honored to be invited once again to participate in this Atlanta tradition and we all had a wonderful time. The weather was perfect and the crowds cheered the students along the parade route from start to finish," said Dr. David Fairchild, Lakeside's director of bands.

The Viking Marching Band, which includes percussion, winds, brass, Guard and drum majors, will present their 2019 halftime show, "We Are …." throughout the fall high school football season. Students will perform a selection of pop and classical music including Antonin Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 “From the New World” and “Come Together” by the Beatles, as they execute precision choreography. The theme of the show is purposely open-ended and designed to emphasize unity, diversity and community.

In addition to entertaining the crowd at all Lakeside football games, the Viking Marching Band is slated to perform and compete at a number of venues, competitions and special events over the next few months. Students will soon sell holiday poinsettias to help offset costs and pay for new instruments, instrument repair, guest conductors, competition fees, travel expenses and music costs. In the spring of 2020, members of Lakeside’s Band, Orchestra and Chorus will have the opportunity to travel together to Hawaii to perform at the Pearl Harbor National Memorial.

www.lakesidevikingband.com, www.facebook.com/lakesidevikingband/