The Saugus High School Marching Centurions are making their way to Washington, D.C., for Memorial Day, but the journey so far has been a bit bumpy. It is a story worth listening to, and available in a limited audio series podcast.

The Saugus High band and color guard has been invited to march in the 2023 Memorial Day parade in the nation’s capital. The members of the band have met adversity over the past six years to reach this point. They have overcome wildfires, a school shooting, a pandemic and remote learning, including practicing and learning new music on Zoom and over video conferencing, to return to competitions and winning awards.

“Oh my goodness, these kids just can’t catch a break,” said Saugus High band director Bob Grigas. “They really can’t.’’

That might have been the case a couple years ago. But the band and color guard have been experiencing some success and are being recognized for their talent and excellence.

The Saugus High School Marching Centurions qualified for the Southern California Schools Band and Orchestra Association championships at Ramona High School in Riverside and finished in sixth place. It was the first time in five years the Saugus band and color guard even competed in the SCSBOA championships. It was the culmination of years of hard work and staying on a path to return to some sort of normalcy.

After performing at championships, the Saugus High band and color guard was recognized and invited to participate in the Memorial Day parade in Washington, D.C. The podcast offers listeners a chance to learn what the members of the band experienced through the past few years. It also offers listeners a chance to help support the band and color guard with travel costs for the trip to Washington, D.C.

We don’t want any students to miss out on this once in a lifetime opportunity due to financial challenges.

The Saugus High School Marching Centurions: Road to Washington podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Amazon Music, Podcast Addict and Castro and all podcast platforms. The first episode was released on Sept. 15 and new episodes will follow bi-weekly through November. Each download supports the Saugus High band and color guard in raising funds to reach the Memorial Day parade.