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‘Mediocre’ marching band tuning up for Wonderful Life parade

Yes, it’s the band’s real name.

The Bedford Falls Mediocre Marching Band is rehearsing for its second annual appearance in the Wonderful Life parade down Fall Street at 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 14, as part of the annual It’s A Wonderful Life Festival.

Try to imagine about 35 people marching with kazoos and toy xylophones playing Bob Seger’s “Old Time Rock n’ Roll.”

“It may sound a little pejorative, but we don’t take ourselves too seriously and we want to have fun,” said band director Gretchen McDonald, a local private piano and voice teacher. “You don’t need to have college marching or even high school band experience. We will train you. But there’s nothing mediocre about our playing ability.”

The general model is the Doo Dah parade in Pasadena, Calif., begun in 1978 as a spoof of the stuffed-shirt Tournament of Roses Parade. The Doo Dah is a quirky, off-beat, irreverent parade that features marchers such as the Chair Force Precision Lawn Chair Drill Team.

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