To the surprise of some, a peace band created by the Moscow community marches throughout the city each year.
While they don’t have a specific leader, Jeanne McHale and Fritz Knorr have participated in this band for many years and are the closest thing to the group’s leadership.
“The Peace Band started as a peace vigil in Moscow prior to the second Gulf War. People were having Friday vigils downtown and those people still meet every Friday. This eventually evolved into impromptu group of people that exist as an email list,” McHale said.
The group is mostly improvisational, with the only rehearsal during the Christmas season for special events. The motto of the group is “making peace more fun.”
“We joined around the same time the group started and we’ve been having a good time ever since,” Knorr said.
The peace band meets every Friday in Friendship Square, finding themselves with new people who join in at any time.
“This is an outdoor marching band that everyone is invited to participate in. We have simple songs and we are all about having fun and making joyful noise for peace,” McHale said.
The band also plays around the time of Mardi Gras in order to get people into the festive spirit.
“Our participation is always in sync with the actual date of Mardi Gras and lent all over the world,” Jeanne said.
The band is not affiliated with the Moscow Mardi Gras group who also celebrate the first Saturday in March. However, they are having the celebration together this year.
“It was just a coincidence that this year it falls on the actual date. Usually the Moscow Mardi Gras celebration happens during lent. It’s pretty rare for this to happen,” McHale said.
The group always passes out beads to those they encounter during the celebration, with some recycled beads from Mardi Gras in New Orleans this year.
“The band Is basically there to have fun, have a celebration and a chance to dress up,” Jeanne said.
The band is hoping people will get inspired by the events of the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival on the University of Idaho campus to pick up an instrument and come join them for the Saturday’s evening event, even if they’ve never played before.
“Some people see us and don’t want to play with us because they aren’t at the same skill level. But we will always take anyone no matter their experience,” Knorr said. “Whether it’s a retired music teacher, a professional musician, people who haven’t played since they were a kid or someone who has never played before. You don’t have to be a musician to join.”
The love from the Moscow community is a big reason why they do this, they said. Knorr and McHale participate to make others happy and spread the word of keeping peace during hard times.
“I love making people happy, and just making them smile when we go by on the street. It makes people happy, it’s like having a big warm hug,” McHale said.
They hope those who haven’t been involved before come to Friendship Square Saturday. The band does encourage costumes and masks for the parade.
Nicole Hindberg can be reached at [email protected]