MONTAGUE, Mich. — Townsend Athletic Complex was alive with music and lights Monday night as Montague High School hosted its sixth annual "Glow Show."
The marching bands from Montague, Whitehall, Hesperia, Shelby, and Mona Shores high schools all performed on the football field with the stadium's lights turned off. The only thing lighting their way was LED lights and glow sticks.
This was the second appearance in the Glow Show for Mona Shores, and it was perhaps one of the most meaningful performances in program history. The band lost one of their own over the summer when Ryan Leany drowned in Lake Michigan off of a beach in Ferrysburg. The Sailors band dedicated this year's marching show to him.
"His parents asked that in lieu of flowers that people make donations to the Mona Shores band and the Mona Shores robotics team," said Jason Boyden who serves as the director of bands for Mona Shores Public Schools.
"We got an absolutely incredibly generous amount of donations, and so we did that, to help to light the band tonight. So all of the LEDs that you see those are all in memory of Ryan, and were purchased with that money. That was in Ryan's honor."
Leany was a member of the Class of 2024 and played the French horn. In addition to being in the band and on the robotics team, he was also a football player.
"I think it's really important for us to be able to remember him for being the kind, smart, funny young man that he was," Boyden said.
The Mona Shores band's show this year is titled "Peace and Love" and it features music from the 1960s.
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