Marching Mizzou takes part in Tiger Twilight

By Jacob Houska

Published Sept. 25, 2007

Marching Mizzou will join other live music performances and carriage rides as part of Twilight Festival in downtown Columbia this Thursday.

The band will march from the columns in Francis Quadrangle down Eighth Street to the columns at Courthouse Square.

This band's performance is for the 17th annual Tiger Twilight, and a section of Ninth Street will be closed to accommodate the festival's crowd.

"After 16 years, we decided it was time to make some big changes for year 17," Special Business District Director Carrie Gartner stated in a May 8 news release proposing the road closing. "We think that some dancing in the streets is a great way to bring a new feel to the festival."

Marching Mizzou Director Michael Knight said the change would be positive for the band's performance.

Like many other aspects of the festival, he said the musical performance by Marching Mizzou will be different than usual.

"It's the only festival that has this kind of tiger theme," Knight said. "So there will be usual things, but sometimes attendees miss the fact that we'll be performing a concert as well. It should be a little different than in the past."

Part of their goal is to direct more attention to the sometimes-overlooked parts of Columbia, Knight said.

"We perform a parade down Eighth Street to get everyone's attention focused to the north side of downtown," Knight said.

Gartner also stated in the news release that the downtown area requested a street closure from the city council in anticipation of the event's growth.

According to the Twilight Festival Plan, posted on DiscoverTheDistrict.com, the event will not be geared toward any particular age group.

"Unlike other CCA (Central Columbia Association) events that are targeted to a very specific audience and designed to promote a specific group of members, Twilight Festival is the one event that is truly designed to attract a wide range of people to The District," the Web site states.