Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

This year marked the fourth time my wife and I attended the Indy 500 Festival Parade in downtown Indianapolis. The next five entries (to be posted over the next three days as quickly as time and endurance permit) represent a fraction of the pics my wife and I snapped. In many cases, encores and additional takes of specific subjects may be available if anyone out there is interested in seeing more, or is looking for a loved one who was in one of the many marching bands that day. For first-time MCC visitors, please note my wife and I are relative amateurs, obviously not trained professional photographers, sharing these from a hobbyist standpoint because fun and joy.

Part One featured the singers, actors, and other celebrities who joined this year’s parade. Here in Part Two: a sampling of each of the marching bands who brought us the gift of music and the sacrifice of wearing heavy uniforms in rising temperatures. My wife knows your pain from experience, folks.

Repeated for special emphasis in the case of this particular entry: if you’re in, or know someone who’s in, one of the following bands and would like to see more photos of them, please let us know. Either leave me a note in the comments section below or use the MCC Contact form located up in the masthead. We’re used to receiving a few such requests every year and we’re more than happy to help out band members and their supporters. Between the two of us, though, we took nearly four hundred photos today. I’m not going into photo overkill mode for this entry until I know someone besides us is genuinely interested.

That being said: the following marching bands performed at the 2014 Indianapolis 500 Festival Parade:

* The Spirit of Muncie Band and Guard from Muncie Central High School. They’re leading off this entry along with a knowing nod from myself to regular MCC readers who’ve been following along with our recent Muncie photo series.

* Ben Davis High School, represented in this photo by their Color Guard. They’re listed second because my wife and I are BD grads. Go, Marching Giants!

[UPDATED 5/28/2014: More of our Ben Davis Giants pics are now online by popular demand!]

* The Speedway 500 Regiment from Speedway High School, located not far from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, home of the Indianapolis 500, the Greatest Spectacle in Racing. For maximum effect that listing should be read aloud in a radio DJ voice.

* Paoli High School’s Pride of Paoli Band.

* North Harrison High School’s Marching Cougars from Ramsey, IN.

(UPDATED 5/26/2014: More photos of the Maroons have now been uploaded to Flickr by special request. Enjoy, folks!)

* Indianapolis Public Schools’ All-City Marching Band.

* Concordia Lutheran High School’s Marching Cadets from Fort Wayne, IN.

* Winchester Community High School’s “The Force” from Winchester, IN. I have no idea why they would bother playing anything except “The Imperial March”.

* Springfield High School’s Blue Devils from Holland, Ohio. Probably no relation to the formerly awesome DC Comics Hero.

[UPDATED 5/28/2014: The audience has spoken! More Blue Devils pics are now online, but offsite at Flickr.]

* Drum Corps International presents the Troopers Drum and Bugle Corps of Casper, Wyoming.

* Belleville West High School’s Marching Maroons from Belleville, Illinois.

(UPDATED 5/26/2014: By special request, additional photos of the Maroons have now been uploaded to Flickr for fans’ viewing pleasure. Enjoy, folks!)

* The Indiana All-Star Marching Band, comprised of musicians from various corners and milieux.

* Not actually a marching band, but this category is closer to fitting: the OneAmerica Walking Flag. Longtime MCC readers will recall a previous entry about my own experiences among their ranks.

To be continued!

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Thanks for viewing! Other chapters in this series:

1. The Special Guests
3. Some of Your Qualifying Drivers
4. Floats and Balloons
5. The Blooper Reel

For fans of Indy 500 Festival Parade history, you can also check out the MCC photo collections for 2012 and for 2013. Enjoy!