Desert Winds Freedom Band Celebrates Armed Services Day With OUR AMERICAN HERITAGE

The Desert Winds Freedom Band (DWFB) is proud to present "Our American Heritage," an Armed Forces Day FREE concert event on Saturday, May 20 at 7:00p.m. Through a generous gift from Mayor Pro-Tem Greg Pettis of Cathedral City, the concert will be held at Palm Desert Civic Center Park. This beautiful expansive park is located at 43900 San Pablo Avenue and has plenty of FREE parking.Enjoy the beautiful balmy summer evening and bring a picnic dinner, chairs and blankets to enjoy a spectacular evening of Americana and Patriotic music dedicated to honoring our men and women in the Armed Forces.

"In honor of Armed Forces Day, I have chosen upbeat and rousing patriotic music representing our country's military history. We hope to inspire all who attend this concert," said Artistic Director, Dean McDowell, DWFB. Booths and representatives from a variety of Veteran and Armed Forces organizations will be onsite along with a display of a large number of American Flags on loan from The Healing Field.

The band is a very diverse group open to all gay, gay-friendly and straight allied musicians who like to play concert band music. Under the baton of Dean McDowell, Artistic Director, it is comprised of dedicated musicians whose goal is to make great music together serving the greater Palm Springs and Coachella Valley area. It includes retired music professionals and others haven't played since they graduated from high school or college. New Members are always welcome. DWFB was founded in the fall of 2001 by Gary Moline as a 501©(3) tax exempt organization.

Besides the large concert band, DWFB has created numerous smaller ensembles to add to our community involvement and increase the playing opportunities for our members. The largest is the DWFB Jazz Band and is comprised of 21 musicians. Other ensembles include a Jazz Sextet, Saxophone Quartet, Brass Quintet and the new Steel Drum Band. All of these groups are to perform at functions throughout the valley.

Local outreach to the community is an important part of the band's mission. The Desert Winds annually play for local events: Desert AIDS Walk, Tour de Palm Springs, Palm Springs Power Baseball, Palm Springs Gay Softball League as well as march in the Greater Palm Springs Pride Parade. DWFB is also involved in reaching out to the incredibly talented local aspiring musicians by bringing nationally acclaimed educators to conduct clinics at Coachella Valley High Schools and by granting yearly college scholarships to deserving high school seniors.

As the last performance of the record-breaking 16th season, the Desert Winds Freedom Band would like to encourage you to visit www.desertwindsfb.org for updates on their 2017-18 season schedule announcement.

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