COURTESY MOANALUA HIGH SCHOOL MUSIC BOOSTERS The Moanalua High School Menehune Marching Band and Color Guard will host the Menehune Classic on Saturday.

Marching band the
main event at Saturday’s
Menehune Classic

Can you have a football game without a marching band? Of course you can. The players will still hurl themselves around, the ball will still fly, points will be won and lost.

But would it be the same? Of course not.

The fight song, the downbeat and the half-time show are all part of the game-night experience.

Through the season, it is the team's performance that counts, but Saturday night's Menehune Classic -- that night belongs to the bands.

Moanalua High School is hosting its second annual Classic, the first marching exhibition in Hawaii's tournament season. More than 800 students from seven high schools will bring their half-time shows to Moanalua, to be performed before a panel of judges.

The event is designed to allow the bands and their directors to try out their show before an appreciative stadium audience -- as opposed to one that heads for the snack bar at halftime -- before the flurry of tournaments in November.

The event runs from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Moanalua football stadium, 2825 Ala Ilima St. Tickets, available at the gate, are $5 general, $3 for children. Call 831-7905.

Future tournaments:

>> OIA Marching Band Festival: Nov. 1, Aloha Stadium

>> Kamehameha Marching Band Tournament: Nov. 6, Kamehameha Schools

>> Rainbow Marching Band Festival: Nov. 10, Aloha Stadium

>> Mililani Bandfest: Nov. 13, Mililani High School