The exuberant spirit of small-town America will infuse Boulder this fall when the University of Colorado at Boulder marching band kicks off the 2007 football season with performances on the Pearl Street Mall.
More than 200 band members will treat mall visitors to high-energy choreographic moves and musical prowess during this year's Pearl Street Stampedes, which take place on Fridays before home games.
Members of the CU Buffaloes football team and coaches also will participate in the pep rallies, and the band hopes to recruit prominent CU-Boulder alumni to act as parade marshals, band officials said.
"This is the third year we've organized these stampedes, and we have received nothing but positive feedback. We're very excited to begin a new season and look forward to showing off CU pride," said Band Director Matthew Roeder. "The band students work hard to spread team spirit in the community while they hone the demanding musical and visual skills they display during halftime performances."
This year's stampedes will take place on six Friday afternoons beginning Aug. 31 before the annual Rocky Mountain Showdown in Denver between CU and Colorado State University. The band will start performing at 7 p.m. at the Boulder County Courthouse on the east end of the Pearl Street Mall.
Other performances will occur on Sept. 14, Sept. 21, Oct. 19 and Nov. 2. The band also will perform on Friday, Sept. 28, the day before this year's homecoming game, on both Pearl Street and on University Hill.
The first year the CU College of Music organized the stampedes, Roeder made participation optional for marching band members.
"But they loved it so much, I don't have to convince them to perform," he said. "This year they'll be marching in Nike warm-up suits the university's athletic department provided to us."
Restaurant owners have been big supporters of the stampedes, asking band members to stop in front of their establishments to dazzle patrons.
"We love having so much CU spirit in the downtown on the Friday nights before CU home games," said Molly Winter, Boulder's director for Downtown and University Hill Management Division and Parking Services.
The stampedes provide a hometown feel and give the Boulder community an opportunity to show its school spirit and support for CU, she said.
For more information about the CU marching band and other music programs, go to . A schedule of the Pearl Street Stampedes is posted at .