It was the sound Kirkland could hear coming. For the first time in roughly 40 years the Lake Washington High School Marching Kangs, were back on their home field in full formation. The kind of comeback story that only happens when a community decides something is worth reviving, and it’s exactly the kind of project Ignite Kirkland, the Kirkland Community Foundation’s giving campaign, was built to fuel.
For 40 years, Lake Washington High School (LWHS) didn’t have a marching band. On September 5, 2025 all that changed.
Over the summer, students traded practice rooms for open air, and learned to march in step while playing their music from memory. For many who weren’t on sports teams already, it was a quick lesson that marching in sync, while holding instruments, was a challenging and athletic endeavor. To pull this off well, it was going to be a collective effort amongst the school, the parent Booster org, and the music students. It was a massive undertaking for any group, but with everybody working in step, by late August, the idea really seemed possible. Together the students, the Boosters and the school rebuilt a program from the grass up. Experienced drumline, new horns, modern marching music all led by three rising sophomore Drum Majors who had been in the LWHS band program for just under a year.
By early fall, all the parts were working in harmony: brass, drumline, majors, all of it. There was just one catch: every student was marching in vintage uniforms, including the iconic capes that hadn’t seen daylight since the band marched off the field back in the mid-1980s.
Fashion may be cyclical. Fabric durability and uniform fit? Less so.
So as the Boosters started to plan how to launch and support this new chapter for the Marching Kangs, they found Ignite Kirkland and immediately knew it would be part of the solution.
“These kids showed up, day after day, and did the hard work of rebuilding this program. The great thing about the partnership with Ignite was that it amplified what this community already believes in: showing up for our kids. It put the Marching Kangs in front of neighbors who’d never even heard of us and helped turn our comeback story into real support. Ignite Kirkland helped us bring back the beat.” said the LWHS music Booster marching band lead, Kendra Rosencrans.
The Boosters knew that partnering with Ignite Kirkland in fall 2025, was going to be an exciting part of the answer about how to outfit the Marching Kangs for their next chapter. The marching band’s campaign, designed by Heidi Wong, called “Bring Back the Beat,” embodied the Ignite ideals of philanthropy that starts in Kirkland and stays in Kirkland.
The Marching Kangs’ return was a natural fit for Ignite. Working with the Foundation, the Boosters were featured in the Ignite grant catalog and given a platform to tell their story to the wider community, expanding their reach beyond band parents and usual supporters.
Our board member, Steve Legg had a full-circle sentimental moment watching the band, saying “It was a joy to experience the sight and sounds of the revived LW marching band at a Foundation event at Moss Bay Hall last fall. All of it was nostalgic for me, a Kang alum (‘87), as I remembered also doing construction work at Moss Bay Hall when it was first built-out in the 80s as The Kirkland Roaster & Ale House.”
In partnership with Ignite, the Boosters were able to reach out across Kirkland to neighbors, alumni, and local businesses who might never have known the program was being revitalized after a 40-year hiatus.The Marching Kangs were invited to perform around the community in their first season, and quickly became a darling of Kirkland.
The Boosters wrote their grant for the full amount Ignite could help them fundraise for ($5,000), and donations flowed in during the campaign. Matching funds and boost opportunities from the Foundation and its business partners, including Amazon, helped stretch every gift further, and helped the group reach its fundraising goal. And now when the Marching Kangs step onto the field, they know they have the whole Kirkland community cheering them on, thanks to Ignite.
A marching band isn’t built once (but the parent Boosters really hope it’s only RE-built once!).
Every fall brings new marching students, needs for modern equipment and instruments, specialized marching coaches, fresh marching music, and uniforms that need resizing and replacing. With all this in mind, the LWHS Band boosters continue their campaign with Capes for Kangs. This is the Band Boosters’ active fundraiser to outfit every Marching Kang with the support they need (from instruments to uniforms to music) which makes the whole program look, and feel, like the invaluable team that they have become in just under a year.
Unlike some teams, marching bands don’t take a big summer break, and that dedication is already paying off. The Kangs chose Celebrate Kirkland on July 4, 2026, as their very first parade appearance. Alumni and current students alike along the parade route stood and clapped as the band marched by playing the song that unites every Kang: ‘Fight, Fight for Lake Washington.’ Again, the community’s support was undeniable, and the Kangs marched home with the judges’ Spirit of Kirkland award.
Ignite Kirkland proved what’s possible when a community shows up for its kids. It introduced new supporters to the Marching Kangs’ comeback and turned that story into real dollars.
But grant campaigns run for a very short time. School band programs run all year. Sustained giving through Capes for Kangs, generous community support and ongoing Booster involvement, is what keeps the momentum going after the spotlight moves on.
As with all Ignite grant partners, when you give through the Foundation you’re not just funding a piece of equipment or something temporary. You are funding programs that help neighbors across Kirkland find joy and belonging. Like with the Marching Kangs, Ignite support helped bring a program back from silence, and will help ensure it’s even louder for the next generation of local students.
Founded in 2014, the Kirkland Community Foundation is a local community foundation supporting nonprofits across Kirkland and the Eastside. We connect donors, nonprofits, and community priorities through grants, partnerships, and local giving that strengthen our parks, people, and shared future. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit (EIN 46‑4931717), we invest in thriving nonprofits, visible community impact, and trusted local leadership.
KCF is a 501(c)(3) non-profit.
EIN 46-4931717
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