Members of the Minnesota “Over 60” Band will present a special pre-parade concert starting at 3:45 p.m. Thursday for the residents of Thorne Crest Retirement Community. This concert is intended to be a thank you for the people of Thorne Crest for offering the band a place of refuge during last year’s July 3 storm, according to a band member.

After the concert the band will be going to the Freeborn County Fairgrounds to become a part of the July 3 parade.

Three Albert Lea residents are members of this band. They are Bill Vosler, Bob Hershey and Ed Nelson. They are all trumpet players.

This band has 45 members who live in an area bordered by Clarkfield on the west, Clara City on the north, Minneapolis and Albert Lea on the east and Madelia on the south. This band is strictly a sit-down group of experienced musicians. It has been playing for 55 years and is now based in Arlington. They appear in 30 to 35 parades and concerts a year and use a bandwagon

In past years the band has played at the Seattle World’s Fair in 1962, the New York World’s Fair in 1965, Spokane (Wash.) Exposition in 1976. Washington, D.C. in 1976, Winnipeg, Canada, in 2002, Branson, Mo., in 2006, and Pella, Iowa, in 2007.