Original Post - August 23, 2016

Tell any child to draw a rainbow and they will cheerfully grab their box of Crayola crayons and grab five or so of their favorite, boldest colors and with firm pressure and confidence, scribble them in specific order in separate but adjoining arcs. In reality, one of my favorite things about rainbows is the blur of hues that occurs when the colors blend together. The softness and subtlety of those mingled colors is underscored by the lack of ability for a camera lens to focus on the illusion. It is a rare visual when just the right elements of rain and sun materialize in a spectrum across the otherwise grey sky.

This past Friday, the Carmel Marching Band performed for the first time this season at a home football game. As they advanced out to play the "Star Spangled Banner" before the start of the game, they processed under a spectacular rainbow. Like the mingled hues of a rainbow, the band boasts people with skin colors in every tone, people of every size, personality, economic backgrounds, mixed religions and sexual orientations. The beauty comes in that co-mingling when the sound of the band and mutual performance of the color guard and band harmonizes and adds depth and richness of sound and visual display to the overall creative concept. 

This is my 6th year taking photos of the Carmel Marching Band and it never gets wearisome. The ever-changing colors and themes are are always bright, the sound bold and the performance stellar.

The diversity of the band is one of the secrets of its strength.

Delicate sounds of the flute intertwine with the bright tones of the mellophone.

The color guard knows the importance of displaying color as a vibrant element to every show, even if it's just with their practice uniforms.

It's the drum major's job to bring unity through diversity.

Likewise, the cheerleaders enthusiastically rally the diverse and colorful crowd at the football game to chant in unison with a common purpose.

As the show grows and evolves through the season, it will continue to blend and coalesce to a colorful crescendo. 

March to the music on your rainbow trail and you'll find that the pot of gold is not at the end, but was with you through the richness of your journey all the while.

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