A high school marching band parade that was a tradition in the South Bay for more than half a century is scheduled to resume Saturday morning following an absence of a dozen years.
Fourteen bands will march along Highland Avenue in the Maytime Band Review, beginning at 10 a.m. The event will continue with a festival and awards ceremony at Kimball Park.
Among the participating schools are Bonita Vista, Castle Park, Sweetwater and Mira Mesa -- which marched in the Rose Parade on New Year's Day.
The roster also includes two alumni bands and an entry from the Navy.
"The desire was to share with our current students the beauty of this parade and the beauty of the community coming together," event director Karen Azhocar McManus told City News Service.
She said the review ran for 55 years until 2004, when the aging directors were no longer able to organize the event.
McManus, a longtime board member of the Mother Goose Parade in El Cajon, decided to revive the review three years ago and gained the backing of Mayor Ron Morrison, Councilwoman Mona Rios and Brian Clapper, chairman of the Chamber of Commerce.
"Generation after generation over the last 68 years have marched in the Maytime Band Review and this year we're back to create memories for today's generation," Morrison said.
She said the parade used to take place in May -- as the name evokes -- but with South Bay-area schools now on year-round schedules, October is a more appropriate time.
