The 3rd North Iowa Band Festival was held in conjunction with the centennial of the Territory of Iowa.. It was the first festival in which there was a band queen competition. 43 bands and 4 drum corps from 43 communities participated in the festival.

The Globe Gazette
Mason City, Cerro Gordo County, Iowa
Monday, June 19, 1939, Page 2, Section 2

  

Pictured above are the 37 queens who attended the 1938 band festival in Mason City. The girls, selected by their individual communities, rode in special cars in the parade, were feted at a Hotel Hanford luncheon and were especially honored at the grand finale in the Roosevelt stadium where one of them, Shirley Morgan, Sheffield, was selected as the queen of the festival.

The picture above shows the immense throng that crowded about the massed bands at the Roosevelt stadium at the grand finale of the 1938 centennial and band festival celebration. This picture was taken from the stadium where several thousand persons not shown in the picture were seated.