Sold-out weekend fundraiser benefits Citrus Heights marching band

With horns blasting and drums beating, Citrus Heights Community Marching Band members treated a sold-out audience to an evening of music, food and raffle prizes for their 6th annual Spaghetti Dinner fundraiser in the Community Center, Saturday.

The event kicked off around 5 p.m. with a team of more than 50 volunteers serving the packed room with platefuls of spaghetti, while the Golden State Accordion Club played some tunes for the crowd in the background.

Mid-way through the evening, marching band members filed in and began playing “America the Beautiful” for the crowds, with the City’s police chief, council members and Sacramento County Supervisor Roberta MacGlashan all in attendance.

“You’ve become the heart and soul of Citrus Heights,” Mayor Sue Frost told assembled band members, after they finished playing a theme song from “The Magnificent Seven” film. “You bring music and joy to all of us.”

Hundreds of raffle tickets were also sold throughout the evening, with a 20 dollar bill earning the purchaser a string of tickets from the floor up to as high as the buyer could reach in the air. Prizes included various donated bags full of gifts, which were raffled off toward the end of the three-hour fundraiser.

Founding the community band in 2005, Kathy Cook and her husband, Bill, were credited on stage for their leadership in getting the Band started and helping its work continue for the past 10 years.

The all-volunteer marching band has become known for its performances at community events around the region, annually playing at the Citrus Heights Tree Lighting ceremony and organizing a flash-mob at Wal-Mart each December. Organizers say anyone age 12 and up is welcome to join the group, as long as they can read music.

[Related: watch the marching band’s flash-mob performance at Wal-Mart last year]

The Spaghetti Dinner was sponsored by Hearts for Parks, Sunrise Recreation Park District and the City of Citrus Heights.