The Lake Dallas High School Falcon Band will host its first marching festival on Saturday.

Six bands, ranging from Class 1A to 4A, are expected to be at Falcon Stadium, located on Parkridge Drive in Corinth, for the Falcon Marching Band Festival, a pre-University Interscholastic League contest option, festival organizers said.

“We’re looking forward to it,” said associate band director and festival coordinator Denise Kennedy. “It’s going to be a competitive event, but we’re offering it in the spirit of education. The focus is to get good feedback that these bands can take home and hopefully use to get a superior rating at UIL.”

Kennedy said that the festival is an alternative for smaller bands so they can compete against groups of similar size. The contest, she said, also brings more exposure to the community. The competition is being co-hosted by the Falcon Band Boosters, the band’s parent organization.

The Lake Dallas band is expected to begin the festival with an informal performance at 3 p.m., followed by the competition at 3:45 p.m.

Each band will have a total of 15 minutes to enter, perform and exit the field. Three current and retired high school band directors will serve as judges and critique the groups on musical and marching performance.

Five groups will advance to a finals round at 7:30 p.m. As a decision is made on a festival winner, the Falcon Band will return to the field at 9 p.m. for an exhibition performance.

A grand champion is expected to be named at 9:15 p.m., and awards will be distributed by classification and to finalists.

John Houdek, a Lake Dallas trombone section leader, said that hosting such a festival is uncharted territory for the group. The senior said he hopes the groups that attend the festival will leave with positive reviews of the event, encouraging more bands to participate in the future.

Tickets for the event cost $5 for adults and $3 for children ages 3 to 12. Admission is free for children younger than 2.

Festival proceeds will be used by band boosters to fund band activities for the remainder of the year.

For more information, call 940-497-4042 or visit the school district Web site, www.ldisd.net.

BRITNEY TABOR can be reached at 940-566-6876. Her e-mail address is btabor@dentonrc.com.