The Multi-Award Winning NFV Community & Parade Band, founded and directed by Jeannette Carey and David Alderdice, meets for rehearsals on Monday evenings at the Hotchkiss High School Band Room, mid-August – May.
Music students and community members of all ages who can play their instrument at least at a beginning level are welcome to join the band. Please come and check it out (even if you have not touched your instrument for 20 years and even if you don’t have an instrument to use at the moment).
The NFV Community & Parade Band has taken parading on the Western Slope to a new level with their multi-person parade puppets, their fun arrangements, and their super funky mountain town street music. 
They won the Grand Champion Award at the 2016 Pioneer Days Parade in Crawford as well as 1st place award in the music category two years in a row. They also won the overall 1st Place Award in the Paonia Cherry Days Parade in July of 2017. Their evening guerrilla appearance on Grand Avenue during the 2016 Mountain Harvest Festival has been considered an epic moment in MHF history.
If you are not a musician, but would like to get involved, the NFV Community & Parade Band is always in search of artists, carpenters, and other helpers to make, and to puppeteer, different parade masks and large multi-person parade puppets.
The NFV Community & Parade Band experience is offered free as a gift with no dues or membership fees. Dedication and regular attendance is greatly appreciated. Much gratitude to [501(c)3] The Learning Council for their ongoing support of this community music making project and musical outreach for the community.
If you have any instruments that are not being used, your old instruments can be donated to the NFV Community & Parade Band for a tax write-off and put to good use by students in need. If you feel that you are not experienced enough to play in the band yet, but have the desire, come visit a rehearsal, or contact us (link below) and we can recommend a good local private teacher who can get you the basics you need to play in the band rather quickly.
If you’d like to join the Band in rehearsal, in parade, or in the puppet troupe, or if you’d like to bring them to liven up your event, festival, or a parade near you, or if you have any community band or funky parade related questions, or if you’d like any more information, contact us.
Here are a couple videos of the NFV Community & Parade Band in action and below are a few pictures of the band in concert or in parade.
