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For the first time in its history, the Karl L. King Municipal Band called off a concert due to heat.
The band's summer finale, set for Sunday evening at the Oleson Park Bandshell, was cancelled as the heat index soared above 100 degrees.
Conductor Dan Cassady, speaking before the finale was called, said the summer had gone the way they all do.
"We have enjoyed another great season with the Karl L. King Municipal Band," said Cassady. "It has gone fast as always, and the weather has been pretty good."
For most of the summer, it was. Several band members keep a close watch on the forecast and radar, Cassady said. The season opened with heavy rain falling between the afternoon rehearsal and the evening performance. Other concerts included heat and others were cold enough that listeners dug out fall and winter coats to keep warm.
Through the cold evenings and the hot ones, the audiences always came to hear the music -- longtime regulars alongside visitors from outside Fort Dodge, hundreds of people who kept turning out all summer long.
"We have had really good audiences made up of people who regularly attend, and it is always great to see new faces," said Cassady. "There are those from our area and people who travel from out of town and even out of state for our concerts. Our audience is very nice and appreciative. We always receive positive comments and compliments on our performance."
Asked for the season's highlights, Cassady said there were too many to list.
The band marked the birthdays of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, the theater-writing team behind a string of successful American musicals, pairing Rodgers' symphonic marches with selections from "The Sound of Music" and "The King and I."
A later program turned to more contemporary shows such as "The Producers," "Avenue Q," "Wicked," and "The Lion King," and doubled as a celebration of Mel Brooks' 100th birthday. Brooks wrote "The Producers."
The Flag Day and Independence Day concerts remained favorites for the musicians and the crowd alike, said Cassady.
"It is always an honor to pay tribute to our active service members, veterans, and celebrate our country," Cassady said. "We thank military veterans and active service members for their service."
Then there was the band's namesake. Karl L. King composed more than 300 works, and the band drew from that catalog at every concert, performing medleys, waltzes, gallops, novelties, romances, intermezzos and a schottische.
Cassady, who played trombone in the band before taking the podium, said the group's temperament matters as much as its musicianship.
"Not only are they very good performers, but they are very good to work with," Cassady said. "And, that is a good combination."
The finale would have closed, as it does every year, with King's own "Auld Lang Syne," the march the bandmaster wrote in 1944. The song of farewells will have to wait for next summer, but the tradition, like the band, endures.