Conclusion of the international tour of the St. Cloud and Meire Grove band

June 23, 2024

BERLIN, GERMANY (WJON News) – The international tour of the Meire Grove Community Band and the St. Cloud Municipal Band comes to an end.

On Thursday, a three-hour bus ride to Berlin turned into a nearly five-hour drive due to weather, traffic, and two car accidents. Once in Berlin, the band took a hop-on hop-off bus tour and saw the remains of the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag building, and much more.

After completing the tour, we took a two-hour bus ride to Magdeburg to spend the night there.

Friday was mainly another travel day with a nearly four-hour drive to Dinklage to check into hotels and then to Holdorf for a welcome reception. In Holdorf it was time for another performance on Saturday.

Paul Habstritt

The day began with two hours of rehearsals with the Holdorf Town Band to go over the combined pieces and discuss the concert details. After a lunch break and a presentation by the Mayor of Holdorf, it was time for the show. The Holdorf band played some American classics first, such as Sweet Caroline, YMCA and others. The combined Meire Grove and St. Cloud band came second with a mix of polkas, Americana and marches. Finally, the two groups played Stars and Stripes Forever and Bohemian Dream together.

After the concert, the group was given a guided tour of some of the city’s historical sites and a farewell party with a barbecue. On Sunday, a 5-hour bus ride to Rüdesheim followed with some free time to explore the city before the group heads home on Monday.