I met Maggi while buying a book at Indigo, and she recognized my name as she follows me on Instagram. The year before I had photographed a friend of hers from the Burlington Teen Tour Band, and since that she wanted to get her own portraits too, to remember her years with the band.
She was in Juno Beach for the celebration of the 75th anniversary of D-Day and the Battle of Normandy. What an amazing way to retire from the band.
Here’s what she had to say about her time with the band:
My name is Maggi, and I was with the Burlington Teen Tour Band for 5 years. Of those 5 years, I was a Section Leader for three of them (that’s what the chords on my left shoulder denote). It was an absolute honour to get to help other people with their journey in band. I can also confidently say that the friends I’ve made in band, will be my friends for the rest of my life.
Being in the band offered me unique opportunities to travel the world. My first tour with the band was to The Netherlands for the 70th anniversary of the Liberation. It was an incredible experience and one of my favourite tours. The people I got to meet and the experiences I had were unforgettable. Some of the most memorable times from that tour include the parade in Wageningen that kept getting delayed due to rain, and getting to meet so many people, before, during, and after that parade. It was unbelievable to see all those Canadian flags, our maple-leaf flying proud in another country. But most importantly, meeting the Dutch who were so willing to help you with anything, and the constant Thank you’s we received. To this day, I still don’t feel like I deserved it. Later that day we had a second parade in Beekbergen… only we missed it. So we marched the parade by ourselves… and then we ate the most WONDERFUL peanut butter chicken I have ever had… I still think about it to this day! Later on, we had the opportunity to visit the Canadian war cemetery, Holten. I think that’s when it really hit me why we were there. Walking around and seeing the sheer number of the fallen, and their ages… it left an impression that is with me to this day. We were also lined the street for the silent march on the way to Oranje Park for the remembrance day ceremony. It was a very emotional experience. From the end of the tour and the moment we got on the plane to come back to Canada, I wanted to go back.
Other tours that I went on with the band included Hawaii for 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbour, California for the Tournament of Roses (which Suddenly Seemore Productions inc. did a documentary about us getting ready for that tour called Band Geeks), Rhode Island for the July 4th celebrations, and England and France for the 75th anniversary of D-Day. These tours and band, have offered me an immeasurable number of opportunities, the friends I have made will last forever, and it has made me a better person.
Anytime anyone asks me about band, I always think that they don’t know what a can of worms they’ve opened... I could talk (and sometimes do) about band for hours on end. And if anyone is even contemplating joining or trying it out... I recommend it WHOLEHEARTEDLY. It was a time in my life that I will never forget. And a time that I am so grateful that I had.
