While the students commiserated with each other as the bus slowly returned to Winona, Meurer and his staff were busy planning the next season’s theme.

“We were eating a bag of Mike and Ike’s on the bus ride home and Ian and I came up with the idea to do a show about candy. We were thrilled with Winter and not upset about (having gotten 2nd), so we dove right into the next season and by the time we got to Winona, we had most of the show fleshed out.”

While they were hammering out details on the bus, the staff wouldn’t share their plans with the rest of the band until late March, 2023, when they were let in on the “sweet” secret.

Once school ended, everyone’s thoughts turned toward band camp. “Band camp is a lot of hard work and effort, but it all pays off in the end,” said Maddie Berg, a junior.

Despite the 9:00-4:00 time slot for the four-day camp, the band was in a good position coming out of Friday night’s picnic and ready to take on the competition.

After competing and receiving judges’ feedback from the Owatonna, Waconia, and Sauk Rapids parades, as well as a crowd-pleasing performance for the hometown Steamboat Days parade, the band made a few minor changes to further improve their show before their final parade of the season, Alexandria.

Dubbed the unofficial “State Championship” of the Minnesota parade circuit, the Alexandria Vikingland Band Festival has been held 39 years in a row (excluding 2020), and Cotter has competed there 34 times.

On parade day, the skies were overcast but the rain held off for the first few of the 18 bands competing. However, when Cotter stepped off on the route, a downpour began that lasted right until the end of their judging zone performance.

“We knew it would be tough to perform in the rain, with the instruments wet, but we did our best,” commented junior Ava Koopman.

Despite their bad luck, the band was extremely happy with their performances and watched the other bands perform, anxiously awaiting the awards ceremony after the parade’s conclusion. Several other seasons, Cotter had felt successful only to lose by fractions of points to Class A rival Kerkhoven-Murdoch-Sunberg (KMS).

Cotter’s fears were put to rest when KMS received 3rd place in Class A, their first time losing the Class A title since 2008. When Richfield was announced as the Class A runner-up, Cotter’s students went wild, jumping up and down with elation, knowing the full scope of their victory and its significance to the marching band program.

Cotter would go on to win best winds of Class A also, with Richfield picking up best color guard and best drumline. Cotter super-senior Olivia Moore added to the victories for the band by winning a $1,000 scholarship, given by the Vikingland Festival committee to graduating seniors who showed superior musical excellence and leadership and planned to major in education in college.

However, Cotter’s ultra-successful day would not end there.

The penultimate award of the evening was the People’s Choice award. In contrast to the professional judging scores, the People’s Choice is voted on by a variety of amateur parade-goers stationed throughout the route, casting their votes for the band that best caught their eye. For the first time in program history, Cotter received the People’s Choice award for their efforts (and likely the tootsie rolls they flung into the crowd), an accomplishment almost 40 years in the making!

After perennial contender 728 Cadets took home the Grand Champion, the awards ceremony was over and Cotter could rejoice on the four-hour bus ride home while Mr. Meurer picked up his phone to see a plethora of texts from Cotter Band alumni and other directors congratulating him on the tremendous achievement.

However, Meurer didn’t waste any time with his staff and immediately began planning the 2024 season, hoping to build off their success. “We were equally happy with “The Candy Shop” vs “Winter” and spent the bus ride thinking of what to do next year, the same as last season.” Meurer went on to write a reflection on Facebook, “These kids mean the world to me. This is my 10th year of working on the staff of the Cotter Marching Band, and for a full decade I’ve watched these kids work, and work, and work to better themselves and drive for excellence every day. Right now, I don’t have too many more words than that. 1st place class A, best hornline class A, and People’s Choice of the entire parade. The work put in leads to results, and today our kids got to really experience that. The 2023 Cotter Marching Band- I couldn’t be more proud.”

After Alexandria, the band’s competitive season was over, but the end-of-season long trip, to Canada this year, still awaited them.

On July 2nd at 1:30 AM, the band hit the road for Lead, South Dakota. The itinerary for the trip was packed, so the band got to sightseeing and exploring South Dakota right away. Within twelve hours, the students had already been to Badlands National Park and Mount Rushmore. Alex Matuska, a senior, said, “My favorite thing we did in South Dakota was wandering around Deadwood.”

Of course, it wouldn’t be a true Cotter Band trip without a 4th of July parade. Cotter marched throughout Lead and Deadwood, playing “The Candy Shop” for the crowds. After an exhausting afternoon, the band piled back on the bus for another 16 hour bus ride. Destination: Calgary Canada.

Soon, the band was at the border. It was many students’ first time out of the country, which inevitably added to the chaos. During their first day in Canada, the band attended the Show Band Showdown, an event where Drum Corps International performed. They also visited the Royal Tyrell Dinosaur Museum and had free time in downtown Calgary.

On July 7th, the band woke early, ready for the Calgary Stampede. The tension was high on the bus ride to the parade convoy: nearly 500,000 people would be in attendance, and another 6.5 million watching, so the pressure to perform was paramount. Soon, the students were in their uniforms and ready to step off and march in the Biggest Rodeo in the World.

Over the next three hours, Cotter marched three miles, performed their show thirteen times, and the drumline cadenced over 25 times. After the parade, Mr. Meurer commented, “These kids make me so proud, and this parade was the icing on the cake of an incredible season.” Though exhausted from the long day, the band was excited to explore the Stampede Grounds that night.

The final day of the Canada Tour consisted of mass at The Shrine of Our Lady of the Rockies parish and sightseeing at Lake Louise in Banff National Park. Students agreed that this was a highlight of the trip; they enjoyed taking hikes around the park, swimming in the stunning glacier lake, and taking hundreds of photos.

“I enjoyed the scenery of Lake Louise a lot,”,sophomore Gianna Teska said.

“It was one of my favorite parts of the trip,” freshman Jacob Moore added.

Sadly, the long trip was now approaching its end: with a 31 hour (and counting) drive back to Winona. Students discussed their highlights and favorite memories of the tour, laughed, and mainly slept on their way home.

Some specific highlights from band members:

“I loved the Gold Mine, specifically the tour guide.” -Emmie Dammen, freshman

“It was so fun when we got stuck in Mount Rushmore Park while it hailed on us” -Jackson Loomis, junior & Hilary Duellman, senior

“The new restaurant experiences in Canada were definitely a highlight for me.” -Macy Piechowski, junior

The band enjoyed a tremendous season and has high hopes for next year’s parades as they seek to defend their Class A title, with Band Camp 2024 only 8 months away.  “We always want to be doing something new and to catch the attention of the judges and I think our next show definitely will. Getting more people involved definitely helps,” Mr. Meurer said.

Life is definitely good for the Cotter Marching Band as they begin the cycle all over again, looking forward to next season. But for now, the band members can take their time and thoroughly savor the long-awaited, well-deserved, and of course starkly sweet, taste of success.