Marching Bands To Square-Off in 62nd Annual Arlen Saylor Cavalcade of Bands

A year’s worth of teamwork and creativity will come together this weekend when the Boyertown Area Music League hosts a night of music and pageantry at the 62nd Annual Arlen Saylor Cavalcade of Bands.

Fourteen marching units, including Boyertown Area Senior High (BASH) and the combined East-West Middle Schools, will take the field at BASH Memorial Stadium on Saturday, September 24. Gates open at 4:30 p.m. and with the competition officially kicking off at 5:10 p.m.

In addition to the performances and an awards presentation, the seniors in the Boyertown Marching Unit will be recognized at intermission. 

“We are really excited to host 14 bands,” says band director Brian Langdon. “When you come to Boyertown,” he continues, “this is where it all started 63 years ago. It is pretty amazing.”

Cavalcade of Bands Is Born

Asked for additional details, Becky Puleo, in her fourth year as Music League president shared that in 1958 a small group led by Boyertown Police Chief Henry E. Groff and 10 others, formed the community group to promote the programs of the school district’s music organizations and to help develop and promote new cultural activities in and for the community.

That first year, the Music League undertook three fundraising projects. Proceeds were used to buy new Springfield rifles for the senior high school rifle squad, as well as for song flutes and music books for the district’s elementary schools.

During that same winter, the Music League discussed ways to focus attention on marching band field shows. Members wanted to host a public exhibition that would provide students with an opportunity to see other area marching bands and encourage excellence. Borrowing its title from the Gillette Cavalcade of Sports, the Boyertown Cavalcade of Bands was born.

The Cavalcade debuted on Tuesday October 27, 1959. 2,000 spectators braved “bone-chilling weather” and joined master of ceremonies Dave Bause, a personality for local station WRAW radio, to watch 750 participants from Owen J. Roberts, Daniel Boone, Governor Mifflin, Upper Darby, Chichester, North Hampton, and Boyertown Area High Schools perform their field shows. Judging was designed to produce a first and second place winner, with Governor Mifflin and Daniel Boone High Schools leading the pack. Enthusiasm the day after was high enough to provide the impetus for making the Cavalcade an annual event.

Legendary former Boyertown High School Band Director Arlen R. Saylor, for whom the Cavalcade is named.

Of these early cavalcades, former Boyertown High School band director Arlen R. Saylor stated: “There were few marching units in the modern sense. Most were just bands with a few majorettes. Pageantry was extremely limited. With each year however, the shows became more complex, the pride more evident.” Saylor continued, “The Music League wanted to provide an opportunity for more students to get involved in marching units, to create more pageantry and color, and to just have fun!”

Decades later, the Cavalcade was named for Saylor, in a nod to the important role he played in the evolution of the annual event and of also competitive marching bands.

One of the early decisions for Cavalcade organizers was choosing a judging format. Because there were no similar competitions, they adopted a model based on the scoring system for drum and bugle corps competitions. It featured a negative tick system, which arrived at a score based on the number of errors witnessed by the judges. This system remained in effect until 1969 when the judging format was changed to the more familiar “outstanding, excellent, good” system. Now, a numerical system is used, once again putting the Boyertown Cavalcade on the “cutting edge’ of competitions.”

Marching units made the annual trek to Boyertown for the “Original” Cavalcade of Bands until 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic upended decades of tradition. Reflecting on that unusual period, Langdon remarks, “It is great we’re back up and running, so we can host this historic and fulfilling experience once again.”

In addition to the two Boyertown groups, other area high schools slated to perform this weekend include: Palisades, Northampton Area, Pottsgrove, Pottstown, Daniel Boone, Governor Mifflin, Pennridge, Warwick, Wilson, Whitehall, Spring-Ford Area – many of which appeared in previous Cavalcades. Bishop McDevitt High School will join the line-up for the first time, too.

Music League Volunteers Critical to Cavalcade's Success Over the Years

It's a family affair. Music League President Becky Puleo and her family, husband Chuck and daughters Ava and Caroline (missing, son Andrew) at BASH Memorial Stadium.

Organizing such a complex event is no easy task. Langdon credits the work of the Music Leaguer for pulling off the annual event: “Their volunteers are amazing. They make sure everything runs smoothly and the audience is in for a real treat.”

The face behind much of the Music League and Cavalcade success in recent years, Puleo is an organizational dynamo. Although neither she nor her husband were involved in music activities during their years as students at BASH, they found themselves with three children of their own who are all musically inclined. Puleo explains they saw their “children being supported by excellent music teachers at every level, and so I wanted to give music teachers the support they needed. It was a great opportunity to give to a program that gave so much to my kids.”

As she whips up a huge cauldron of chicken corn soup to round out the food offerings at the Cavalcade, Puleo shares that the concession stands during the Cavalcade will once again sell the traditional items and be manned by the Music League’s parent volunteers. They also will greet visiting school busses, guide them to park and direct them to whatever they might need. “Having parents perform these tasks,” Puleo observes, “makes the evening run smoothly and lets the music people focus on what they do best.” 

Fundraising, of course, is a major element of the Music League’s work. The group’s generous support has helped provide Boyertown’s music students with needed items, such as band uniforms, and facilitated performance opportunities for hundreds of students who participate in the district’s music programs each year. During Puleo’s term as president, the Music League also has continued providing 120 marching unit students a home-cooked meal on Saturdays before they leave for competitions. To cover these costs, the Music League has hosted a comedy night, a virtual trivia night via Zoom, and other fundraisers.

Puleo acknowledges that the job can be huge. Planning for this Cavalcade began with meetings at her home back in June, but "really the planning begins the day after the Cavalcade as we evaluate how things went," Puleo says. At the time she became Music League president she was not working full time in the school district as she is now. Puleo is quick to give credit to other Music League members who step up and volunteer. "It is a group effort, but I would like to see volunteer parents who have children in the other music groups – choir, orchestra, concert band – get more involved so this isn’t only a marching band booster group,” Puleo remarks. “We are here for all music groups, and I hope parents come forward and want to give back, as I did,” she adds.

Both Langdon and Puleo are hoping for a full stadium this weekend and encourage marching unit fans to “come out and cheer on the kids, enjoy the shows, and help make our event a success.”

Ticket Information

Tickets are available both in advance and at the gate. Cash and credit cards will both be accepted. Adults: $15; senior citizens and students: $10.  To pre-purchase tickets, click here. 

[History of the Cavalcade assembled by Boyertown Schools Music League with articles written by Robert Misko, long-time past voice of the Boyertown Marching Unit and Denise Stetler Christman, past reporter for The Boyertown Times.]

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