On the 20th anniversary of the annual North Central Iowa Marching Band Clinic and Competition held at Dodger Stadium, the Dodgers showcased their tribute to ABBA.

“All sections have worked together, not as individuals, and are having fun with the ABBA show,” Paulson, who is the band’s director, said. “After the first note we played, you could see the bands in the stands and their eyes got big and you could see them bounce backwards.

“When you are at a band contest and you see the reaction of people enjoying the show, that is a big compliment.”

“The fun part was after looking at all the recaps, I thought all of our sections did well and could have won,” Paulson added. “We were on top of everything. They played well and their work ethic has been super.”

-Submitted Photo
Part of the Fort Dodge drumline plays during the North Central Iowa Marching Band Clinic and Competition on Saturday inside Dodger Stadium.

With one of their best performances in the 20 years of the competition, the Dodgers brought home a trophy haul.

The Dodger “All-American” marching band took home top prize as the grand champion and the top Class 4A school.

Drum majors Grant Behrens, Logan Hamilton, Micah Flaherty and Chloe Balm were honored as the best drum majors in the competition.

Fort Dodge was also named best brass section and best drumline.

During the show the Dodgers played excerpts from ABBA’s “Dancing Queen,” “Does Your Mother Know,” “Fernando,” “I Have a Dream” and “Mama Mia.”

-Submitted photo
Fort Dodge trumpet players, left to right, Colton Hale, Manuela Rodriguez, Karch Smith, Lacey Larson and Val Hensley perform during the North Central Iowa Marching Band Clinic and Competition.

It wasn’t the typical competition on Saturday, as the bands had to work around weather challenges and Fort Dodge’s homecoming dance.

“This was a crazy week with all of the homecoming activities,” Paulson said. “With everything that’s going on in the kids’ mind, it’s tough. But they were 100 percent with us during the competition.

“The parents came together for homecoming. They had food brought in, spots to change and a spot for the students to take pictures with a backdrop. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of parents.”

With rain chances all day and a couple of rain storms, all bands were able to play.

“It was on my mind all day if we could do this, because we need the audience,” Paulson said. “The bands were super. Everyone got on the field except Aplington-Parkersburg, who was able to march inside while it was storming.

-Submitted photo
The Fort Dodger All-American Marching Band competes inside Dodger Stadium during the North Central Iowa Marching Band Clinic and Competition.

“I want to thank all of the fans, parents and bands for putting on a great competition.”

Directing with Paulson was Laura Klein-Ferry. Eric Hanson worked with the drum line and Mike Sisco was the arranger.

Paulson directed the visual design and Klein-Ferry, along with Dillon Napier are in charge of the color guard.