BNL Color Guard

Originally, a military color guard often traveled with a band, which would play a patriotic song. This use continued into the civilian marching bands, and today, a marching band’s color guard will normally carry equipment descended from those of military color guard: flags, rifles, or sabers. Color guards often choose costumes and props that coordinate with the theme of their show. Color guard membership can be very large, sometimes rivaling the number of musicians in the band or very small with a minimum of two people. Color guards also accompany drum & bugle corps, independent marching musical units which train during the early spring and compete during the summer months. During the 1970s and 1980s, much of the impetus for the evolutions of the modern color guard came from the arena of competitive drum & bugle corps, although winter guard, both independent and school-related, have claimed the cutting edge in recent years.