Join The Renegades For The 2015 Chinese New Year’s Parade

The San Francisco Renegades 2015 season explodes onto the scene March 7 as they take to the streets of San Francisco in the Southwest Airlines Chinese New Year Parade.

Celebrating their 14th year participating in this historic cultural event, the Renegades once again extend an invitation to drum corps members worldwide to join in the festivities, become a Renegade for a day and march the parade with the “ones in black.”

Signing up could not be easier – visit the Web registration site at www.renegades.org/chinesenewyear/ for sheet music, parade sign-up, rehearsal and uniform information. After the parade, all parade participants and audience members are invited to celebrate the Chinese New Year with the Renegades at Chevy’s, the official Renegades Party Central Headquarters for the weekend. Chevy’s will donate a portion of the proceeds to the Renegades for each check that has a Renegades’ flyer attached.

This year the Renegades will usher in the “Year of the Ram” with Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey. Performers will join the Renegades from many other drum corps across the United States, including the Kingsmen Alumni Corps from Anaheim, CA; Bridgemen from Bayonne, NJ; Hawthorne Caballeros from Hawthorne, NJ; Reading Buccaneers from Reading, PA; Dream from Southern California; CorpsVets from Atlanta, GA; Northwest Venture from Seattle, WA; Concord Blue Devils; Santa Clara Vanguard; Chicago Royal Airs; Racine Kilties; and the Erie Thunderbirds, Erie, PA.

Named one of the world’s top 10 parades, the Southwest Airlines Chinese New Year Parade is the largest event of its kind outside of Asia. As the Chinese community ushers in the New Year, homes cleaned and fresh, door frames decorated with poems and prayers for a prosperous new year, the San Francisco Renegades will take part in a parade meant to compliment the cultures of China and America.

Since 1958, the parade has been under the direction of the San Francisco Chinese Chamber of Commerce and has grown to more than 100 units. A San Francisco tradition since just after the 1849 Gold Rush, the parade continues to delight and entertain many hundreds of thousands of people that come to watch it on the street or watch the live television broadcast on KTVU Fox 2 or KTSF Channel 26 (Chinese broadcast.)

Blending another local tradition into celebration, the San Francisco Renegades have participated in the Chinese New Year festivities for the past 14 years. The ringing tones of silver horns, the controlled thunder of pounding drums, and the rippling luster of flowing silk flags gives voice and vision to the festivities. Silk dragons dance through the streets while firecrackers explode, and through it all is a dramatic musical celebration worthy of the ancient Chinese traditions.

For more information on the Southwest Airlines Chinese New Year Parade or performance updates for the Renegades’ season visit www.renegades.org.