Nine marching bands made up of nearly 700 high school students will compete for top honors at this year’s Rose Parade, which kickstarts Rosefest 2025.
Upbeat songs, fancy footwork, exciting props, and other creative flourishes will delight the crowd. Behind the scenes, a panel of eagle-eyed and keen-eared judges from the Tri-State Judging Association will be scoring all elements of the performances.
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All the competing bands converge at the John Rose MN OVAL at the end of the parade for the awards ceremony.
“This heavy-duty type of parade marching band competition is pretty unique to mostly just Minnesota. It started in the early 1990’s and it’s based on what bands do during field shows in the fall. It’s condensed to a show that can be performed on the street,” said Barry Peterson, co-owner of Tri-State Judging and a retired band teacher and director.!["A]("https://cityofroseville.com/ImageRepository/Document?documentId=38165")
“Most people don’t understand the level of sophistication, training, and level of quality rehearsal it takes to develop that.”
Bands that march in the Rose Parade are divided into three divisions based on size and then judged on three categories:
- Musical performance
- Visual performance
- General effect
“Rose Parade is a really nice venue and it always draws a great crowd,” Peterson said.
| Enjoy the parade and check out the competition at the 33rd Annual Rose Parade on Monday, June 23. |
Bands Competing in 2025 Rose Parade include:
- 728 Cadets, Elk River area
- Bemidji
- Buffalo
- Dassel-Cokato
- Litchfield
- Sartell
- Alexandria
- KMS Marching Saints
- Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg High School
- Lake City