A musical tribute to beloved teacher at Oktoberfest parade
Float for Gary Tomlin a poignant celebration
KITCHENER — Bass player Tom Nagy recalls when his pal, drummer Donnie McDougall, offered a pretty sweet gig. The pitch was hard to resist.
“He said, ‘It’s outside, it will be cold and not only are you not going to get paid, you have to pay $150,’” recalled Nagy. “I immediately said, ‘Yes.’”
How could Nagy say no after learning he would be playing on the Gary Tomlin tribute float in Monday’s Oktoberfest Thanksgiving Day parade.
“I was really happy to be asked,” said Nagy. “It was in tribute to Gary who was one of the most influential music teachers in the area.”
Conducted by Tomlin’s wife, Karen Tomlin, the float of musicians was almost all former students of the respected music teacher, who died of cancer April 2. But his music never died, it has only grown stronger through the hundreds of students he taught over the years.
McDougall added, “Karen called me and asked if I’d be interested in playing to honour Gary.”
“It meant everything,” said McDougall, a music teacher and member of bands Top Pocket and the Gary Cain Band. “Gary (Tomlin) was such a big influence on me and he was one of my best friends.
“I am who I am today because of him.” The tribute float was part of the OktoberCorps marching band, formed to celebrate Oktoberfest’s 50th anniversary. The alumni drum and bugle corps brought together dozens of musicians, all who had connections to Waterloo Region marching bands over the decades. As part of that reunion, it was decided to have some of the musicians on a float.
“Doug Darwin contacted me and asked if I was open to the idea of a tribute to Gary,” said Karen Tomlin. “I asked if he would be open to the idea of having Gary’s former students play.”
Darwin, chair of the OktoberCorps committee, agreed. The idea was born and Tomlin got busy contacting her husband’s former students.
“All but three were his former students,” she said, adding the three songs
they performed were all her husband’s arrangements, making the tribute all the more poignant.
“It was very emotional, very special,” said Tomlin.
Her husband was a professional musician, ran a private teaching studio and taught music with the Waterloo Catholic District School Board, but he was also a devoted drum corps instructor, adjudicator and the chief judge for the Ontario Drum Corps Association. Marching drum corps was very much a part of the couple’s lives, and besides, “he loved parades,” she said.
Music was dominant in Monday’s parade, which started on Frederick Street near Centre in the Square, then wound its way along Weber Street to Bridgeport Road. Fortunately, the rainy skies only burst once — and just for a few minutes — but it was enough to thoroughly soak everyone participating in the parade, which included a six-horse hitch of magnificent Belgian horses pulling a beer wagon, Filipino and Korean marching bands, stilt walkers, fire jugglers and a group of 20 people sporting red T-shirts emblazoned with “I will vote,” referencing the upcoming municipal elections.
Christie Braendle and her daughter, 14-year-old Lily, were standing parade-side, watching all the action.
“We are so blessed to have this, bringing our community together,” said Braendle who calls herself “an import” from Orono, near Oshawa. When she came to Waterloo Region, Braendle had no idea there was such a rich German heritage here.
“It’s wonderful to be part of something bigger than us,” she said.
Young Lily had just performed with her dance troupe from ConfiDance School in a pre-parade performance. The troupe was part of the seventh annual Dance for Kindness, a global celebration on World Kindness Day. Lily was happy to be part of the movement, then admitted with typical teenage bluntness, she joined in “because I wanted to be on TV.”
Kitchener native Nadia Walker arrived with her family to see the tail end of the parade, having driven from their home in Niagara after learning this was the festival’s 50th anniversary. The Walker family had not been to the parade in a few years.
“For me, this is home,” she said nostalgically. “It’s pretty cool, even to catch the end of the parade.”
Her 13-year-old son, Amari Walker, was equally excited. “It’s fantastic,” he said.