The 2021 Fontana Christmas Parade was a great opportunity for the marching bands from high schools in Fontana to show their talents — and to provide proof that they were able to come back strong after the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted their season in 2020.
For the Fontana High School Marching Steelers, the Dec. 11 parade was a terrific conclusion to a season that saw them capture victories in three competitions.
“This has been an incredible year,” said Chris McDuffey, the director of the Fohi musicians. “The kids have succeeded, they’ve worked hard, and they’ve done an awesome job. We were coming back from the pandemic and distance learning, and the kids have pulled through even under these circumstances.”
McDuffey said the Steelers took first place in events at RCC, Hemet West Valley, and Colony and advanced to the state finals for the fifth year in a row.
“I think the band has progressed since coming back from the pandemic,” said Humberto Bravo, the Fohi drum major. “I know there were a lot of issues that we had at the beginning of our season, but overall we really pushed through those obstacles and improved overall as a band, both competitively and as a family.”
James Sharp, the band director at Summit High School, was also pleased with how this year turned out.
“Despite the fact that 75 percent of the band had never done a marching band show, we were able to have a great season,” he said.
Also performing during the Christmas Parade were bands from Kaiser High School, Jurupa Hills High School, and Fontana A.B. Miller High School.
Thousands of spectators lined up to cheer for the bands as they traversed the new parade route.
