Members of the US Marine Corps Band arrived in Kewanee just in time for their first performance on Friday, Sept. 1. The entire band, minus a few members who hadn’t quite arrived yet, performed on the main stage during Kewanee Hog Days. But their visit to Kewanee wasn’t a guarantee.
Twice before, Mark Mikenas, executive director of the Kewanee Chamber of Commerce, has tried to get them to town for the annual Hog Days parade. Those times the visits were approved and most of the details were set. But invariably, hurricanes on a trajectory for the country’s southern coast prevented that from happening.
This time, in spite of a hurricane, the band made it safely and performed numerous times in front of Hog Days audiences. On Friday, the entire band performed a number of patriotic arrangements. On Saturday morning, the band members jogged a few miles for the annual Hog Days Stampede.
Later on Saturday, the band then performed in the parade and afterwards, members of the pop/rock ensemble played more contemporary tunes on the main stage. On Sunday, the brass band ensemble made an appearance at the pork chop tent, wrapping up their weekend duties. Mikenas said the US Marine Corp would fly out on Monday.
