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The Wilberforce University marching band, the Hounds of Sound, will participate in the Cincinnati Reds oepning day parade.

WILBERFORCE — The Wilberforce University marching band, the Hounds of Sound, will help usher in the new baseball season Thursday by marching in the annual Findlay Market Opening Day Parade in Cincinnati.

This is the first full season for the new WU marching band. The 147 members participated in the Mardi Gras Parade in New Orleans last month. Directed by Dr. Virgil Goodwine, the Hounds of Sound is the only college marching band from the Miami Valley that will participate in the parade.

The direction for this year’s parade will be the standard 1.4 mile route, with the parade beginning at 12 p.m. on the Race Street side of Findlay Market in Cincinnati. It will move through Race to 5th Street, turning east on 5th and will end at the Taft Theater, 317 E. 5th St..

The Reds will face the Pittsburgh Pirates in the season opener at 4:10 p.m.