Sixty-five high school bands from every corner of Louisiana are marching in Cowboy Stadium this week.

The inaugural Louisiana Music Educators Association (LMEA) State Marching Championship has been held at McNeese State University since Monday, with marching bands from every region competing in the largest marching festival in Louisiana’s history.

LMEA is a professional organization that provides professional development for music educators to ensure Louisiana provides students with quality music education. Former LMEA board member and current “unofficial” historian Patrick Deaville said LMEA was motivated to create the LMEA State Marching Championship to emulate other states that crown state champions. This is a competition that LMEA has wanted to host for four decades, he said.

“The band directors in the state just said, ‘We need to do this,’” he explained. “We’ve had many festivals in the past where we give ratings at the state level, but we’ve never ranked anybody or declared somebody the national state champion.”

This competition will promote “high-quality” musicianship in high school band students.

“To come in and to truly evaluate every single one of these groups with critical comments, telling them, ‘This is where you match up against bands. … This is where you need to work to improve,” he explained. “This is what needs to be done if you want to elevate your program to a higher level and improve.”

Several regional marching festivals are hosted in Louisiana, including the Lake Charles Toyota Gulf Coast Marching Band Championship at McNeese and the annual DeRidder High School Marching Festival, but this is the first marching festival large enough to accommodate high school bands from across the state.

“When we said we were going to do it, we were worried if everybody would respond. You know, it’s a drive from Shreveport or Monroe, New Orleans or Baton Rouge … but they just responded immediately. I mean, it was overwhelming,” he said. “We really do have the cream of the crop that responded to the call.”

There are bands of all sizes represented — from 1C (the smallest) to 5C (the largest). LMEA even “threw in” an additional classification: 1C. Bands in 1C march in the traditional style, as Southern University or Grambling State University does.

A champion will be named for each classification by out-of-state judges to ensure impartial ratings, and “Best in Class” awards will be given for different categories — such as best flag and rifle unit and best percussion unit.

The winning bands will receive trophies, banners and bragging rights

McNeese was chosen to hose the competition because the university showed early, genuine interest, Deaville said, and went “above and beyond the call” to accommodate the more than 6,500 students participating.

The last day of the competition is Wednesday. The public is encouraged to spectate. The gate opens at 10 a.m. Admission is $10.