For years people have asked Chuck Stowell, band director at Kentlake, why there isn’t a high school band marching in the Covington Days parade.

“I told them that’s because the parade is in the middle of the summer and there is no band,” he said.

This year, as part of the mission of the Carly Stowell Foundation to offer music activities to young people, Stowell decided to change that.

“In thinking about the foundation and connecting with the business community a bit and supporting what they do knowing that in time we may need to ask for their support,” Stowell said. “We can say, ‘We supported your activities.’ Part of our mission is to offer musical activities to students who have a passion for it.”

And thus was born the Summer Parade Band, which is a chance for local students who play in band to keep their skills sharp during vacation, Stowell said, but it’s also an opportunity for alumni to join in.

Unlike marching band during the school year, Stowell said, this is a bit more laid back and focuses less on drilling and perfect marching. Instead it’s about “street performance.”

Last weekend the Summer Parade Band marched at the Kent Cornucopia Days parade and this Saturday morning the band will march in the Covington Days parade on Southeast 272nd through downtown.

“We’ve gotten off to a small start,” Stowell said. “We had 30 people in our parade band last week and hopefully people will ask how they can get involved.”

So far, Stowell said, “the kids are having a blast doing it.”

He hopes to be able to grow the program this summer and beyond.

“We’d like to see this build in the future and hopefully down the line it will become a summer band program,” Stowell said.

Plus when students get to school in the fall for pep band practice in preparation for football season, it will be nice to have some musicians who don’t have to knock the dust off their skills.

“We’ve got to hit the year running because there’s usually a football game four days after school starts,” Stowell said. “It will help a little to have some kids who have stayed active over the summer. It’s also a good way to get the name of the foundation out.”

Stowell and his wife, Elena, started the foundation to honor the memory of their daughter, Carly, who died after suffering a sudden heart arhythmia just a few days shy of her 15th birthday while at a basketball tournament in North Carolina in 2007. She was a freshman at Kentlake, a musician and basketball star, so the Carly Stowell Foundation promotes opportunities for youths in sports and music.

The Summer Parade Band will be performing next weekend at Renton River Days and at Auburn Good Ole Days Aug. 8.

Stowell said he has also put together a small group of students who play Dixieland jazz that he has dubbed “The Mudbugs.” They played a Rotary auction gig in June, he said, “and they played our booth at Kent Cornucopia Days last weekend.”

“They’re a talented little group of kids,” he said. “Who knows who may want to hire a group of kids playing Dixieland.”

Anyone who wants to join the Summer Parade Band should just show up at rehearsal from 6-8 p.m. the Thursday before a parade at Kentlake High. Or send an e-mail to cdsfoundation@ix.netcom.com.

For more information on the Carly Stowell Foundation, go to www.carlystowellfoundation.org.