INFORMATION BASED ON PRIOR YEARS AND SUBJECT TO CHANGE AS WE RECEIVE UPDATES.

Hosted by the Mysti Krewe of Nimbus and billed as "The Last Mardi Gras Parade on the Planet", this is Portland's own Mardi Gras parade. Our ninth appearance at this event.

Meet:   At 6:15 PM along N Humboldt St near Kerby Ave (see staging map). (map and directions) Parade steps off at 7 PM.

Uniform:   DRESS uniform: TBGO polo shirt, black pants/belt, black socks, black shoes. You may substitute appropriate Mardi Gras headgear for the TBGO hat. Purple flashing fedora is encouraged if you have one! Weather may be cool and/or rainy, so you may add the TBGO letterman jacket if you have one. If you don't have a letterman jacket, best look is to add a black turtleneck beneath the uniform shirt for additional warmth and you'll match great. Alternatively, you can wear the TBGO lightweight jacket or any non-logo plain black jacket; we want to keep everyone comfortable. With any of the above you can add a clear plastic raincoat (optional at your discretion).

Loaner Jackets:   We have a few loaner TBGO letterman jackets available for $5 per event. If you want to rent one for this event, contact Janet Tolopka (janet AT tbgo.org) as soon as possible. YOU MUST PICK UP JACKETS IN ADVANCE; WE CANNOT BRING THEM TO THE PARADE ROUTE.

Additional garb and decorations:   This is a NIGHT parade, so memorize or make sure you have a light source for your music. Thermal underwear, hand warmers, foot warmers, and similar accouterments may be quite useful if the weather is cold. If it looks rainy, you may want to consider bringing a clear plastic raincoat. If you choose to wear gloves or ear covering during the parade please wear black. (Any color is fine for stuff you wear only before the parade.) This is a Mardi Gras parade, so you are encouraged to add appropriate decorations in purple, gold, and green. Horn decorating and are encouraged! If you have fairy lights and/or the lighted wristbands from previous parades, here's a great chance to use them again. You may substitute appropriate Mardi Gras headgear for the TBGO hat. Purple flashing fedora is encouraged if you have one!

Parade Tunes:

1. Funiculi Funicula
2. Fireball
3. Uptown Funk
4. Venus

Parking:   Drop-off for large equipment is available at Neil Kelly, but MAKE SURE YOU HAVE SOMEONE WATCHING ANY GEAR YOU DROP OFF. Because of limited parking in the staging area, the organizers suggest parking along the adjacent streets along the parade route.

You can also park near the parade end make your way to the staging area. In addition to on-street parking, the organizers have obtained permission for parade participants to park at Boise Eliot Elementary School, 620 N Fremont (map and directions), a block or two from the end of the parade route. Carpooling is encouraged since the lot size is modest. Enter the lot from N Fremont St; see map below. We have access to both parking areas, not just the small lot. You may wish to park here and walk to the staging area or arrange a shuttle to the parade start point. If you arrive early enough, a #4 TriMet bus is scheduled to run every 15 minutes from the vicinity of the school to the staging area (see map). The bus runs west on Fremont then turns north on Mississippi; get off at the Alberta St stop. Be sure to check TriMet schedules since the bus may stop running early because of the parade.

Bathrooms: Portapotties are available in the Neil Kelly parking lot and at parade end.

Food: There are plenty of food opportunities on and near the parade route and staging area. Stay healthy, be mindful of your choices.

Parade Route: Parade heads south on Albina Ave and then Mississippi Ave to end at N Fremont St. Parade is approx 0.8 miles long and ends by around 8 PM.

After-Party:   FYI, Ecliptic Brewing (where the parade ended in previous years) has closed. Other bars and restaurants will probably be open post-parade to continue the fun. Stay healthy, be mindful of your choices.

Parade Route (click to enlarge)

Northeast Portland is throwing its 37th annual St Patrick's Day Parade (read the story of this quirky event here). It's a small but growing parade, we've enjoyed it, and they REALLY want us back. Besides, it's a good chance to practice our marching and warm up for the summer season.

Uniform:   DRESS uniform: TBGO polo shirt, TBGO hat, black pants/belt, black socks, black shoes. You may augment or substitute appropriate St Patrick's headgear for the TBGO hat. The weather is likely to be unpredictable. Rainy? Warm? Cool? Who knows! It makes choosing the correct jacket tricky, so ... you can choose! Any of these is fine:

• No jacket, with or without black turtleneck beneath the shirt;
• TBGO black lightweight jacket (if you don't have the jacket, may substitute any solid black non-logoed jacket);
• TBGO letterman jacket;
• Add clear plastic raincoat if you like.

NOTE: If you wear a jacket, please wear your shirt TUCKED-IN.

Additional garb and decorations:   This is a St Patrick's Day parade, so please do add green and shamrocks. You may augment or substitute appropriate St Patrick's headgear for the TBGO hat. Please don't alter other parts of the uniform (no kilts, bagpipes, sporrans, leprechaun shoes, etc).

Meet:   At 12:20 pm at Beverly Cleary School, NE 33rd Ave and NE Hancock St. (See map; click here for printable PDF). (Click here for Google map and directions.) We will stage in the blacktop area behind the school.

Parking:   Parking is primarily on-street and not difficult; see map for options. The CVS Pharmacy has often okayed the use of their parking lot. (Wouldn't hurt to throw them a little business ...)

Parade Route: Parade steps off at 1 PM heading west on Hancock St, turns north on 17th Ave, then returns to the school on Tillamook St. Parade route is about 1.6 mi long. Expect parts of the route to be narrow.

TENTATIVE Parade Music:

1. Funiculi Funicula
2. Fireball
3. I'm Shipping Up to Boston
4. Uptown Funk

Event summary:   The inaugural Liverpool WaVeS International Music and Marching Band Festival, held on July 6th and 7th, 2024, showcased "a vibrant array of musical talent from both the UK and the USA". The festival featured a diverse lineup of performers, including marching bands, orchestras, jazz ensembles, choirs, and dance groups, all contributing to a multicultural celebration of music. The event featured performances on the Liverpool ONE Stage as well as two short (roughly 0.5 mi) parades. Click here for more about the events and performers in the 2024 programme (yep, British spelling).

TBGO has been invited to Liverpool for the 2026 WAVES Festival and of course we'll add some "Beatles Tourism". The trip departs June 29, 2026 and returns to the U.S. on July 9, 2026 with 6 nights in Liverpool and 3 nights in London. Click here for the PDF version of the itinerary; an abbreviated itinerary is shown below;

Tom is also offering an optional Irish Experience trip extension beginning July 9, 2026 and running through July 20, 2026. Click here for more information about the Irish Experience extension.

Brief Trip Itinerary
Date	What's Up?
June 29, 2026	Fly from PDX to London Heathrow on British Airways with BA connection to Manchester (there is no BA air service into Liverpool).
June 30, 2026	Arrive in Manchester with meet/greet and charter coach to Liverpool (45 minutes). Arrival is early evening in time for dinner and bed. Liverpool hotel: Mercure Atlantic Tower - 6 nights
July 1, 2026	Magical Mystery Tour including the Cavern Club (private). Visit Beatles sites, including the Strawberry Fields, Beatles homes (exterior), Penny Lane, etc.
July 2, 2026	Full day excursion to the famous and beautiful Lake District, home to many famous English writers. Lunch is included.
July 3, 2026	"Ferry 'Cross the Mersey" cruise this morning with free time to explore/shop before our afternoon visit to a local school for performance in conjunction with the WaVeS Festival.
July 4, 2026	Liverpool WaVeS International Music and Marching Band Festival. We have a short (0.5 mile) parade that includes "stop and play" within the parade. This evening there will be a Mersey Music event celebration with all the WaVeS participants featuring a local band and dinner.
July 5, 2026	Liverpool WaVeS International Music and Marching Band Festival. Again, we have a short (0.5 mile) parade that includes "stop and play" within the parade.
July 6, 2026	Morning travel by High-Speed Rail Liverpool to London. Upon arrival in London we will go to Covent Gardens (old-time shopping experience) for lunch on your own. In the afternoon, we have a guided visit to the Tower of London and Thames River Sightseeing Cruise (Tower Pier to Westminster). London hotel: Holiday Inn Kensington – 3 Nights
July 7, 2026	Panoramic guided Londone sightseeing tour in the morning, including visit to St. Paul's Cathedral. Afternoon free to explore.
July 8, 2026	This morning there will be a guided Beatles-themed tour, including a visit to Abbey Road and other sites of interest. Afternoon free to explore.
July 9, 2026	Day of departure to fly back to PDX non-stop from London Heathrow vis British Airways. Alternatively, continue in the UK / Europe on our own or join the Irish Extension for 11 days in Ireland.

Liverpool / London Ground Package

Liverpool / London Ground Package Pricing:   The Liverpool / London Ground Package is offered as "all or nothing" and will not be altered. Price for the ground portion of the trip varies depending on how many travelers we have as shown in the table below. Because European hotels generally do not have rooms with two Queen Beds, Triple and Quad rooms are not available for this trip. Note that prices below DO NOT INCLUDE AIRFARE.

Estimated airfare Portland/Manchester with return London/Portland via British Airways is $1100. When you sign up for the trip you can indicate whether you want to purchase the group air travel flights or would prefer to make your own air arrangements.

Liverpool WaVeS Ground Package Pricing includes:

• 9 nights hotel accomodation (4 star)
• Breakfasts daily at hotel, 1 lunch, 1 dinner (Mersey Music Evening)
• Instrument storage rooms at hotels
• Coach transportation for the outlined itinerary
• Gratuities to driver and guides
• Train travel from Liverpool to London (one way - standard class)
• Entrances to Beatles Story, Strawberry Fields, Tower of London, St. Paul's Cathedral
• Lake District lake cruise Bowness to Ambleside
• Magical Mystery Tour (Liverpool)
• Ferry across the Mersey boat trip
• Thames cruise Tower Pier to Westminster
• Panoramic hslf day tour of London
• Celebration of Mersey Music evening show with dinner
• Local guides for included sightseeing tours
• Liverpool WaVeS Festival fee and administrative costs
• Local taxes and service charges on included items

Not included:

• Items of a personal nature
• Meals other than those listed
• Airfare
• Travel insurance
• British ETA (Electronic Travel Authorization) is required ($13 per person)

Liverpool / London Group Air Travel

Firm air travel pricing is not yet available since our travel dates are too far in the future. Estimated Economy Class airfare Portland/Manchester with return London/Portland via British Airways is $1100. When you sign up for the trip you'll indicate whether you want to purchase the group air travel flights or prefer to make your own air travel arrangements.

Air Travel Classes on British Airways:

• Economy (World Traveller) - packed with all the comfort and benefits you expect from British Airways at an affordable price.
• Premium Economy (World Traveller Plus) - with fewer rows, the cabin is quieter, more spacious, and more exclusive than World Traveller.
• Business Class (Club World) - Imagine your favourite armchair, your bed, your dining table, and your office, all in one. Club World seats are designed for relaxing, sleeping, or getting work done, with plenty of space and privacy.
• First Class - BA's most luxurious way to experience flight. From your own stylish suite, to exclusive access to lounges, fast-track security, and excellent service, it's the finest way to travel.

If you choose to purchase the group air flights, you'll be asked for your preferred air travel class. See this link for additional information.

Trusted Traveler Programs: If you have a Known Traveler Number (KTN), please provide it. If you have Global Entry, please provide your 9 digit PASS ID. (There will be a place for these during signup.)

Frequent Flyer Number: If you have an American Airlines or Alaska Airlines frequent flyer number, please provide it during signup (there will be a slot for it).

Dietary Restrictions: Please note any dietary meal needs for your flights during signup.

Make Your Own International Air Arrangements If You Prefer

If you prefer, you can choose to reserve the Ground Package and make your own air travel arrangements. This allows you to use a preferred carrier; purchase tickets using mileage program miles; depart at a different time of day; search for other attractive pricing options, etc.

Please be aware that airport and hotel transfers described throughout the itineraries for both the Liverpool / London Ground Package and the Irish Experience Extension will be based upon the flight on which the majority of the group is traveling. If you book your own air travel using other flight times and/or dates, you are responsible for providing your own transportation to and from the hotel.

Optional Irish Experience

As noted earlier, Tom is offering an optional Irish Experience itinerary to extend your trip. The extension begins on July 9, 2026 and continues through July 20,2026. The tour offers a wonderful blend of historical landmarks, rich cultural experiences, and breathtaking natural scenery. You'll find the people of Ireland to be especially warm and welcoming, with a special "meet the people" opportunity included. Here's Tom's quick overview of the tour:

"Besides the outstanding scenery of Ireland (everything is so vivid green everywhere you go), this tour will have built into it plenty of culture and people-to-people experiences, especially when we meet up with Dr. Derek Mulchay (Mr. Band in Ireland), who is the present day director of the St. Mary's Drum & Fife Band from Limerick. He will be our walking tour guide while in Limerick. We will have the opportunity to visit their band room and if we have enough voices we will look towards a joint concert or performance. But the great part is going out to dinner with Derek and some of his members for dinner. We truly will come away with a great picture and overview of Ireland, including Northern Ireland (Britain) what with our visit to the Titanic Exhibition & Museum in Belfast, plus our visit to the walled city of Derry and the UNESCO site at the Giants Causeway. We finish up in Dublin with some great visits there with city tour, Dublin Castle, Trinity College with the Book of Kells, Irish dinner and to top if off with a live performance of Riverdance at the Gaity Theatre."

Click here for a PDF with the details and full itinerary of the Irish Experience itinerary.

Irish Experience pricing: Ground package price for the Irish Experience Ground Package is shown below. In addition to the ground package cost, the total trip airfare is expected to be about $300 higher.

Early Booking Discount

Early signups help us block the right amount of hotel space and airline seats. To that end, an Early Booking Discount (EBD) of $400.00 is available to all TBGO band associates (musicians, auxiliary unit members, and support staff) who purchase the Liverpool / London Ground Package and have performed regularly with the band. We're also delighted to welcome new performers to join TBGO for this trip; the EBD is available to new band associates who join TBGO now and play with the band regularly throughout the 2025-2026 seasons. We especially urge EBD recipients to plan to join the band on one or more days at the Oregon State Fair; it's our single largest paying client and we need EVERYONE to help out to make it work!

To be eligible for the EBD, you must sign up for the Liverpool / London Ground Package via the Survey Monkey signup (with or without the Irish Experience Extension) by 11:59 PM PDT JULY 15, 2025. The EBD will be applied at the time of your final trip payment.

The Early Booking Discount is not available to friends and family traveling with the band.

Festival Fee Rebate

The WaVeS Festival has expenses (including the Mersey Music event and dinner) that attendees help defray via a Festival Fee of $232 per person. As shown in the package description above, this Festival Fee is already baked into the price of the Liverpool / London Ground Package. We have a handful of people who are interested in joining the band in Liverpool but who are not purchasing the Liverpool / London Ground Package. Attendees who fall into this category still owe the Festival Fee. To repeat and to be clear: this applies only to people who do not sign up for the Ground Package but are joining and performing with the band in Liverpool.

For people who fall into this category, the Board has elected to rebate the Festival Fee in lieu of the Early Booking Discount they would otherwise be eligible for. A Festival Fee Rebate (FFR) of $232.00 is available to all TBGO band associates (musicians, auxiliary unit members, and support staff) who have performed regularly with the band and fall into this category. We're also delighted to welcome new performers to join TBGO for this trip; the FFR is available to new band associates who join TBGO now and play with the band regularly throughout the 2025-2026 seasons.

To be eligible for the FFR, you must sign up for the Liverpool / London Ground Package via the Survey Monkey signup by 11:59 PM PDT JULY 15, 2025. The EBD will be applied at the time of your final trip payment.

The Festival Fee Rebate is not available to friends and family traveling with the band.

Travel Assistance Program

TBGO is not offering Travel Assistance Program (TAP) awards for this trip.

Passports - IMPORTANT

A VALID U.S. PASSPORT is required for travel. You may NOT use a U.S. Passport Card, birth certificate, or similar documentation -- a Passport is required. If you do not hold a passport or your passport is not up to date, you should acquire one or renew it AS SOON AS POSSIBLE to avoid issues later on. See the TBGO Passport Information page for detailed information on applying for a first passport or renewing an expiring passport.

Remember to KEEP YOUR PASSPORT WITH YOU WHEN YOU BOARD THE PLANE -- DON'T PACK IT IN YOUR LUGGAGE!!!

IF YOU ARE USING A PASSPORT FROM A COUNTRY OTHER THAN THE U.S.A please let Tom know as soon as possible because you may have different visa requirements.

Electronic Travel Authorization

A British Electronic Travel Authorization ($13) is reqquired, but it's too early to obtain it. We'll provide addtional information for you at the appropriate time. YOU WILL NEED TO APPLY ONLINE FOR YOUR ETA AT THE APPROPRIATE TIME; TOM IS NOT OBTAINING ETAs FOR THIS TRIP.

Deciding Whether to Book This Trip

It's important that you be in reasonably good health to handle the demands of this trip. You must be able to get on/off the motor coaches in reasonable fashion and there will be some walking. Those not in good health can cause delays each day on the tour and hold things up for the rest of the tour participants. Should you fall in this category you may need to strongly re-evaluate if a trip as such is for you. Alternatively, you may need to bring along someone with you (family or caregiver) to insure you have someone who can assist you each and every day to avoid becoming a burden to other travelers. Getting through airports is yet another area to consider since it entails getting through security and walking long distances to immigration and flight gates. Being aware of these expectations and your limitations, and then making thoughtful choices will ensure that we can provide a great experience for everyone.

Requesting Travel Modifications

As noted earlier, the Ground Package is "all or nothing" and will not be altered. However, if you want to arrive early, stay longer, or visit additional places, Tom can work with you on your ideal trip.

If you'd like to explore changes in the trip, please contact Tom Higham Travel (tom-higham@comcast.net). He'll arrange an in-person meeting with you to learn about and discuss your travel ideas.

Travel Insurance

TBGO travel packages (like so many travel packages everywhere) are non-refundable. To protect yourself in case of problems that prevent or interrupt your travel, you may wish to consider purchasing travel insurance.

Travel insurance can help protect you if you must cancel or modify your trip due to illness, injury, or death to yourself or immediate family members. Another reason for having travel coverage is that many countries around the world that have socialized medicine don't want to be stuck with medical costs you may have accrued and don't have the means to pay for it. Yet another reason is that Medicare does not cover you outside the USA.

IMPORTANT: To be sure you are fully covered, especially for pre-existing reasons, you must purchase your travel insurance within 21 days of your travel deposit (best to do it at the time you are making your trip deposit so that way you know you have it handled). You will be offered an opportunity to purchase travel insurance when filling out the Survey Monkey sign-up for the trip. Your premium is based on your age (younger = lower premium) and cost of the trip (lower trip cost = lower premium). Tom will be happy to get you a customized quote for your situation.

Let's Go!!! Liverpool Trip Signup

Use the link below to sign up for the Liverpool / London WaVeS Festival trip. Options are available both for those purchasing the Ground Package and for those making all their own travel arrangemente but performing with the band in Liverpool. This is the Final Signup; it commits you to making the trip. ALL PAYMENTS ARE NON-REFUNDABLE.

You will need to know the following:

• Whether you wish to purchase the Liverpool / London Ground, along with what type of room (Single, Double).
• If reserving a Double room, optionally supply the name of your preferred roommate.
• Whether you wish to purchase the corresponding Group Air Package or will make our own air travel arrangements.
• If you are plan to purchase the Air Package: Class of service (Economy, Premium Economy, Business, or First Class); Alaska Airlines or American Airlines frequent flyer number (if any); Known Traveler Number (KTN) or Global Entry PASS ID if you have (if any); dietary requests for airplane meals.
• Payment Information - Credit Card info if you wish to pay by credit card, or you can contact Tom directly
• Passport information: Name EXACTLY as shown on Passport, Passport Number, Date of Birth. If you do not have a passport or your passport is not current, you may supply this information later on.
• Whether you want Travel Insurance

Please read if you have a comcast.net email address

I continue to have issues sending TBGO email to Comcast email users. Delivery may be delayed or refused, and I cannot predict what will work and what won't. Evidently, Comcast is convinced that TBGO email is spam.

If you haven't been receiving email from me, I have a couple of suggestions:

• Complain to Comcast. I can't find a way to do this, but you may have better luck as a customer.
• I recommend that you obtain a free gmail account and set it to forward mail automatically to your Comcast email. Then let me know your new gmail account and I'll add it to the outgoing email lists. Evidence so far suggests this works okay.

Recruiting fliers:   The Recruiting Committee has created two new page-size PDFs for you to use to help build the band. One is a "general" flier, the other uses the 2026 Liverpool trip as a recruiting incentive. Feel free to print and hand out to friends, post on bulletin boards, etc.

In addition to the page-size PDFs, there are two smaller (1080x1080) images: a GIF and a PNG. The PNG is static, the GIF animates the band's URL. Both are a nice size for posting to your social media accounts.

Click the images below to open the fliers. You can also right-click the images and choose Save Link As to download to your device.

PDF - general full page	PDF - Liverpool full page	GIF - small	PNG - small

Long-Term Travel Plans

Major Road Trips

The Board talks with members informally to get travel ideas, and there's no shortage of fun things to do. We've built a long-term travel plan using these criteria:

• Take account of the "recurring themes" we hear when talking to band associates about travel opportunities.
• Target events with "cool factor". If we only get to do one a year, it oughta count!
• Emphasize trips that center around existing events with large, enthusiastic crowds. It's more fun to play for lots of people, and it's a lot easier to draw a crowd when someone else has already done all the work.
• Have a reasonable belief that it's a trip/event we can successfully execute.
• Target locations that are likely to have broad appeal to members as "destinations" - there should be fun, exciting touristy things we can do while we are in the area.
• Try to keep major events 9-15 months apart.
• Work to keep each trip affordable to the best of our ability.
• "Start spreading the news" - work on bringing the band to each major area of the country (and beyond).
• In general, avoid duplicating major trips that we've done previously - we ain't gettin' any younger and there are LOTS of places to go!
• Look beyond one year to put a multi-year plan in place. We think that a roadmap makes it easier for both the band staff and band associates to plan ahead, and it can also act as a recruiting tool.

Regional Trips and Mini-Trips

Besides our annual "big road trip", we make a conscious effort to broaden our reach in regional events. This will certainly include day trips, but we'd also love to add one or two "mini-trips" each year if the band can support it. In general, we'd try to space mini-trips so that they don't fall right on top of a major trip (i.e., we'll try to create "breathing room" between trips as much as we can.) A mini-trip would typically be closer to home, include a 1-2 night hotel stay, and have lower cost. Examples of mini-trips that we've done include the Autumn Leaf Festival in Leavenworth (WA), Wenatchee Appleblossom Festival, Pendleton Round-Up, Medford Pear Blossom Festival, White Rock (BC) Sea Festival, and Rogers Santa Claus Parade (Vancouver, BC).

Active Travel Plan

In March 2023 the TBGO Board unveiled a new multi-year travel plan at a Zoom meeting, including both regional and major national/international trips through 2028. Here are several options for viewing the plan.

Click the cover slide at right for a video of the Zoom meeting presentation (runs 45:27).
Click the cover slide at right to download a self-running slide show with details of the plan and its trips. It may take a bit for the presentation to download since it's large (114 MB). Launch after it downloads and you can then advance through it using mouse, space bar, enter key, arrow keys, etc.
Click the cover slide at right for a PDF of the presentation. It loses the lovely animations and transitions, but you get all the text.
Click the grid at right for a one-page PDF summary of the plan.