Rain can’t stop the show from going on

By EMILY BURTON
Staff Writer

“I hugged a clown today”, read the vivid orange sticker on Sarah Kirby’s shirt. Through her shy, one-word answers, her father, Scott Kirby, deduced that the clown in question had had small feet, red hair, and a painted face. Oh, and he had been in a parade. 
At the tender age of 5, Sarah has seen four such parades. The Kirby family came from Idaho to the Great American Brass Band Festival where Scott was scheduled to play.
“I’m pretty much the only piano act,” said Kirby, who had been a street entertainer in New Orleans for 12 years, playing his piano for locals and tourists. 
“I met George Foreman when I was a street performer, and he convinced me to come up to the festival,” Kirby said. But the band festival is not the end of Kirby’s travels. He is trying to raise money to support music programs in Montana schools, many of which have cut their fine arts programs to save money. 
“I’m going to revive my old street piano and tour with it. I’m trying to get people back in touch with their culture, their heritage and roots,” Kirby said.
Larry St. Clair is living his heritage. Dressed in authentic woolen clothing, he and his E-flat tuba, over 140 years old, play crowd-rousing tunes with the 8th Regiment Band. 
“This is a premier thing for brass bands. We come to hear other bands play, and getting to play is just the gravy on top,” said St. Clair. “And the service on Sunday is amazing.”
Along the parade route Saturday, crowds of band fans waited under umbrellas for the show to begin. Maxine Maxey and Doris Lyen had front-row seats outside the fire department, both relaxing in lawn chairs on the curb. 
“I’ve been to the festival since it started. A few years, it happened that our regular minister gave the services on Sundays at the festival, we’d always come,” said Lyen.
“My husband worked for a bank, and the bankers’ group would always have a picnic. They would spread food out on the table, and we’d watch the bands,” said Maxey.
Behind Maxey, Fire Chief Mike Thomas and his men leaned on a spotless ladder truck, watching the crowd mill by. Thomas said he was not worried about getting his trucks to a run. “Basically, we blow our horns and the crowd parts. But we are expecting a beautiful day and a friendly crowd,” said Thomas.
The crowd was friendly, with generations of families gathered to watch the parade. Malcolm and Barbara Neel of Henderson came to the festival this year to see their children and grandchildren.
“This is like walking back in time, it’s wonderful. Especially to see all the old people in lawn chairs. It tugs at my heart,” said Barbara Neel, as two of her grandchildren watched the parade for the first time. 
Later, Scott Kirby took the stage, delighting a damp crowd with his entertaining music, something he said the schools and our country can’t do without. “What good is a healthy economy if you have nothing to spend your money on, like the arts and music?” said Kirby.

This story ran in the Advocate on June 15, 2003.