By Julie Manganis
DANVERS — Band parents on opposite sides of the continent shared the same feeling of pride yesterday as they watched their children marching down Colorado Boulevard in the Tournament of Roses Parade.
"There's just a huge, huge sense of pride," said Andrea Enos, whose daughter Jillian is a freshman drummer with the Danvers High Falcon Marching Band.
Enos was in the stands in Pasadena, Calif., as her daughter and fellow band members marched past in the parade's first-ever grand finale, which featured a fly-over by F-16 fighter jets.
At his home in Danvers, Gardner Trask, whose daughter Julie, a junior, plays the piccolo, was watching on every channel that carried the parade.
He admits he felt a bit of mixed emotions, wishing he could have been there this year, as he was four years ago when his older daughter Lisa marched (in the pouring rain).
But the proud father was thrilled to be able to see his daughter twice, thanks to the number of broadcast and cable channels covering the event.
"We were able to pick her out at the rear of the flag in the center," said Trask, whose daughter was holding up the giant American flag that concluded the parade.
"The band looked wonderful," Trask said. And the fly-over "was an added bonus."
The band was instrumental in starting a new tradition for the parade. After band director Ronald Parsons asked permission from organizers to carry a large 20-by-30-foot American flag, the parade officials mulled it over and decided it would be a great opportunity to create a new tradition, a grand finale, Parsons said.
"This was the inaugural of an official grand finale to the parade," Parsons said. "This is the beginning of a new tradition for the Tournament of Roses."
The band performed a medley of patriotic tunes including "You're a Grand Old Flag," "Yankee Doodle Dandy," "Stars and Stripes Forever" and "God Bless America."
As the band turned what is known as "TV Corner" onto Colorado Boulevard, four F-16 fighter jets in the "missing man" formation flew overhead.
"We had prepared the kids," Parsons said. But the students were playing loudly enough themselves that they were able to keep right on going despite the roar of the jet engines.
Meanwhile, back in Danvers, Maureen Benson was glued to the TV.
Her son Daniel, 13, who plays the cymbals, was one of a group of eighth-graders invited to take part in the parade this year.
"I was recording it on all four channels I could get," Benson said. "We enjoyed freeze-framing it and rewinding."
"Each channel had a different camera angle," said Benson, who rated HGTV's coverage as the best.
There was a brief moment of panic when one local station cut away just before Danvers was supposed to appear, switching to the Winter Classic hockey game at Fenway Park. They quickly switched to another channel.
Benson hadn't spoken to her son as of yesterday, but did get a few text messages.
When she texted him asking if he'd had a good time, he offered the following response: "Yup."
"I just want to imagine he's having a fabulous time," Benson said.
Trask, who has talked to his daughter during the week, said the band was booked solid all week, performing at a Bandfest on Monday, where they were the first to get a standing ovation, his daughter reported.
They also played at several theme parks.
"Everything went outstandingly," Parsons said, "just as we had hoped for."
The weather was great, and all of the 150 students who had traveled to California got to march and play despite some minor illnesses earlier in the week.
Enos, whose older daughter Jessica played in 2006, said the repeated selection of the Danvers band to participate is a tribute to both the kids and their band director.
"Just knowing how hard they worked the past two years to get to this day and to see how far they've come and how much they learned, I think it's a tribute to Ron Parsons and his staff," Enos said. She was a chaperone and an officer of the Danvers Parents for Music Education group, which helped raise the $50,000 it took to get everyone and their instruments to California this year.
"It's something positive that just demonstrates commitment of the students and the band director and his staff, and the work ethic it takes to be in the band," Trask said.
