Found Footage of Detroit Party Marching Band at Ferndale Library March 2020 (video)
(Crystal A. Proxmire, Dec. 23, 2022)
Ferndale, MI – Just before the pandemic prompted mass shutdowns around the state, country, and world, the community of Ferndale had gathered for what no one knew at the time would be the last fun event before two years of quiet and social distance.
Oakland County Times was there for the Ferndale Area District Library’s 90th Birthday Party on March 6, 2020, the main attraction of which was a performance by the Detroit Party Marching Band. Unfortunately our folder of pictures and videos ended up misplaced inside another folder, so we never ran the story, and thought they were gone forever.
But we found them, and thought they were too fun not to share!
When we told Librarian Kelly Bennett about the found footage, she was happy for the trip down memory lane.
“This show will live forever in my memory as the last big FADL event before the pandemic,” she said.
“I’ll never forget standing on the edge of the Circulation Desk so I could get pictures and video. I kept making eye contact with Jeff Milo and just mouthing, ‘this is so cool!'”
The Detroit Party Marching Band is an eclectic band that shows up at events, often unexpectedly. According to Wikipedia it was founded by Rachel Harkai, Molly Notarianni, and John Notarianni after seeing similar bands in New Orleans for Mardi Gras.
“We had so much fun, and there were so many people!” Bennett said. “Detroit Party Marching Band is always such a bombastic time. Having them take over the main part of the library felt so cool.
“It took a long time to get used to having that many people in the library again,” Bennett said. Though now the music is definitely back.
The Ferndale Area District Library is known for it’s range of community and cultural programming that often breaks the stereotype of libraries as quiet spaces. This includes the Summer Concert series and the First Stop Friday Series, featuring local bands like the upcoming performance of Ethos on February 10.
Learn more about the library at https://www.ferndalepubliclibrary.org/
Learn more about Detroit Party Marching Band on Instagram.
For more things to do, visit the Oakland County Times Event Page!
To submit event info email editor@oc115.com .
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