It’s a cool autumn night in October, and the ice-cold metal stands at Valley Stadium in West Des Moines are full. The stadium lights sizzle and illuminate the field, and an announcer’s voice can be heard booming all the way from the parking lot, where visitors tote blankets from their cars.
But the crowd, whose boisterous whooping can only be quelled by a team of volunteers holding “quiet please” signs, isn’t there for a football game. Instead, they’ve settled into the bleachers to catch the final hours of an all-day high school marching band competition.
ValleyFest, hosted annually by Valley High School, has invited top bands from across Iowa and neighboring states to participate in its competition and fundraiser for 46 years.
The performances aren’t peppy halftime numbers or a string of parade songs: oftentimes, they’re full-spectacle theatrical productions with multiple movements, complete with costumes, props and rolling sets — and the length of a football field is the stage. Every moment is choreographed — from the first foot crossing the end zone to the last echo of a snare drum — within a precise 15-minute window.
The crowd's roar dulls to a low drone as the announcer's voice signals the start of each performance:"Drum Majors, is your band ready?”
Drum majors — the leaders of the band — perform complex salutes before clambering up to their posts to direct with gloved hands.
On the field, weaving between brass instruments and the color guard's swinging flagpoles with recorders pressed to their lips, is a team of judges who murmur feedback that the band will receive after the show. Points are awarded to specific sections for musicianship, tone and precision, which will be tallied up at the awards ceremony at the end of the competition.
Musicians angle their bodies and instruments high — up toward the press box — while their feet mark exact coordinates on the field to create intricate formations. In the pit, a stationary network of xylophones, marimbas and keyboards at the front of the field stays perfectly in sync in a mesmerizing flow state of swaying limbs and bobbing heads.
But the shows go beyond technical perfection; bands get creative within the constraints. Elaborate sets serve a dual purpose as quick-change booths and on-field storage for instruments, props and flags. During ValleyFest’s night show, one band broke out a quartet of electric string instruments. One student popped onto a platform behind the pit to rip out a guitar solo mid-performance.
The competitions are the culmination of months of work. Students often learn the entire show before the school year begins, at grueling, hot, summer marching band camps, where recommended supplies, according to Johnston High School Varsity Marching Band's "Tips for Surviving Summer Marching Band," include half-gallon water jugs and caffeinated energy bars.
During marching band season, band practice is dedicated to fine-tuning, then running the show again, and again — and again.
Building a tradition
Valley Band Director Josh Waymire said ValleyFest has evolved far beyond its early years.
“When ValleyFest started, the fall circuit that we now know pretty extensively for marching band didn't really exist,” he said. “This was just kind of a ‘Hey, put your show on that you've been doing on your Friday nights. We'll get some judges here so you can get some feedback from them before you go to state contests.’”
Over time, the festival built a reputation, eventually positioning itself as one of Iowa's premier events and welcoming top bands, big and small, from across the region.
Making the event run smoothly takes an enormous collective effort. Over 500 volunteers help throughout the day, including self-named "band parents" in matching, colorful T-shirts. They swarm camps, hand out food, touch up makeup and push and pull heavy props, many of which they helped build.
“It takes a lot,” said Tara Cox, a band parent whose son is a member of the Bondurant-Farrar Bluejay Pride Marching Band's color guard. “We have to be there at every game and every weekend competition to set everything up, tear everything down, load the trailers. The kids help, of course, but it could not happen without the band parents.”
The day is long — ValleyFest is technically two full-length competitions wrapped into one, with a day and a night show that use slightly different ballots. Many bands are accustomed to performing twice in one day during the competition circuit, sometimes at completely separate locations, like the Johnston High School Varsity Marching Band.
Johnston Drum Major Ellie Tesar said she was especially excited for the cooler evening air before the band's second performance.
"I think for our band, personally, we get a lot more energy at night shows," added her fellow drum major, Londyn Balmore.
The band’s next stop is the Mid-Iowa Band Championship in Ankeny on Oct. 18, where they’ll compete against 21 other bands from across the state.
Students carry excitement and nerves — both before and after taking the field.
“I love the people. I love the community," said Waukee Northwest Royal Brigade color guard member Ava Hansen ahead of the band's first performance that day. "I love being able to have, like, 15 of my closest friends with me every morning and really build that connection and bond with not only them, but then the entire band.”
For Anvitha Gaddi, a drum major for the Waukee Warrior Regiment, the day’s performance was rewarding.
“I think it was a really good run. I think everybody did what they were supposed to do, and we had a lot of fun," she said moments after leaving the field. The band, one of the larger schools in attendance, went on to receive third place overall in its class.
Performers from the Independence Mustang Marching Band, a smaller school, said they felt the weight of the competition under the bright Valley Stadium lights.
“It's a big stadium, so it was definitely an adrenaline rush,” said Reece Grover, one of the band’s drum majors, after the band's second performance that day. The students had arrived at ValleyFest from the IHSMA State Marching Festival in Cedar Rapids.
“I'm feeling like I'm gonna cry,” said her fellow drum major, Isabella Jensen. “It’s a big, anxious day all the way up until we finally get here, and then when it's over, I just kind of fall apart a little bit.”
The band went on to win first place in its class.
After each band performed, students packed into the bleachers, now spectators themselves — cheering, laughing and nervously awaiting the final awards ceremony.
Waymire said it's an example of the “competitive camaraderie" that fuels the day.
“[Bands] want to come out, they want to do their best, they want to win, but when they get into the stands, they're just a bunch of band kids who love watching other bands,” he said. “They cheer, they support, they enjoy not just their performance, but the performances of all of the other bands while they're there. And I do think that is one of the things I really love about ValleyFest, is seeing the kids support each other."
