The band from Kyoto Tachibana High School participates in this year’s Rose Parade, Jan. 1 in Pasadena. The group is the latest sponsored by the Green Band Association to join the New Year’s Day celebration.
Emiko Christensen of the Green Band Association presents a donation of more than $10,000 to Mark Leavens, president of the Tournament of Roses, Feb. 28 in Pasadena. The funds were raised at benefit concerts by high school marching bands who have performed in recent years and will again in 2026. Last December, the band from Kyoto Tachibana High School performed locally at Kennedy High and collected more than $7,600 in assistance for victims of last fall’s hurricanes in North Carolina and Florida.
After marching in this year’s Rose Parade, the Kyoto Tachibana band gave a concert in Japan to benefit those affected by the Southern California wildfires.
The latest donation reflects those proceeds, along with funds from other bands in Japan, collected even amid a similar wildfire disaster in Iwate Prefecture, during which nearly 200 structures were destroyed and at least one resident perished.