Cindy Monroe has been around music for decades. Fifty years, she figures.
"But I've never been in a marching band, and it always looks like so much fun," she said.
So she showed up to play cymbals with the National Cherry Festival Marching. That's it. No audition, just a conversation with the director.
"I did give him an out, too," Monroe said. "I said, ‘If I come and I try it and you think no, this is just never going to work, you can send me home and I can try again another year.’"
But so far, so good.
The band was formed in 1984. For some, this is the first year marching with the group. Cindy is the only one who said it was her first time in any marching band.
Others are old hands at this. Brett Baldwin, 63, has been in the Cherry Festival band since 1989. He plays tenor sax.
Dante Billeci, who directs the ensemble, is brand new this year. He leads rehearsals and marches and plays the sax with the band.
"This is a great community of people," he said. "That's what music's all about. It brings people together."
And it encourages them to try new things.
"My family and friends will tell you I'm always one who's ready to try something else," said Cindy Monroe, who is about a year into partial retirement. "I've got more time now. What do I want to do to fill it?"
Her grandkids are excited.
"They're just like, 'Grandma's going to be in the marching band?!'" she said. "They think it's a real hoot."
