Edmonton All-Girl Marching Ambassadors

The **Edmonton All-Girl Marching Ambassadors**, (also known as the Edmonton All-Girl Drum and Bugle Band and the Ambassadors) were a Junior Drum Corps from Edmonton, Alberta.

## History

"The Edmonton Ambassadors Performers Association was originally formed in 1966 as the Edmonton All-Girl Drum and Bugle Band wearing those famous colours, blue, white and gold. The objective was to promote musical interest as an art and as a recreational activity as well as encourage musicians to improve their skills, sportsmanship and character.
...in 1978 changed their name to the Edmonton All-Girl Marching Ambassadors.
In the 80's ... the Edmonton Girls Senior Guard were five time AWGA (Alberta Winter Guard Association) Provincial Champions and the Junior Guard were three time AWGA Provincial Champions in Prep Class.
In 1984 the Edmonton All-Girl Marching Ambassadors were honoured to participate in the Victory Parade for the Edmonton Oilers first Stanley Cup win marching right behind Wayne Gretzky. Members of the All-Girls also performed in the Opening Ceremonies of the 1988 Winter Olympics held in Calgary, Alberta. Travel in the 80's was quite extensive, visiting such places as Germany, Holland, Belgium, Denmark, Hawaii and numerous trips to sunny California.
The focus of the marching band in the 90's changed and more emphasis was put on the summer program and competing. From 1992 to 1996 the girls traveled the United States West Coast to compete in Summer Bands International. 1997 and 1998 took the Ambassadors to the United States Mid-West to compete in the MACBDA circuit. The All-Girls also did a complete makeover in 1998 and went from wearing blue, white & gold to wearing black, burgundy & silver as well as doing away with the traditional skirt uniform, they figured it was time to liberate themselves and wear pants. They also chose to go by the simple name of the Ambassadors. In 1999 the Ambassadors performed with the Edmonton Strutters Drum & Bugle Corp and were given the opportunity to compete in various DCI (Drum Corp International) competitions throughout the Mid-West United States.
In 2000 the Ambassadors folded their music program and became Edmonton's first independent colourguard, calling themselves the Ambassadors Colourguard Ensemble. Concentrating their efforts at trying to build a successful and competitive winterguard in the "Sport of the Arts", the Ambassadors have been competing as an Independent A winterguard in various WGI (Winter Guard International) Regionals as well as the CWA (Canadian Winterguard Association) circuit.
Since the creation of the independent colourguard, the Ambassadors decided it was time to open the doors to male members. It wasn't until the 2003/2004 winterguard season that the Ambassadors recruited their first male performing member since their inception in 1966.
The Ambassadors are currently in the process of expanding their organization to include a Winter Percussion Unit as well as a Senior (Alumni) Winterguard and, once again, have decided to undergo a name change to reflect the organization as it is today. Effective May of 2004 the Edmonton All-Girl Marching Ambassadors became the Edmonton Ambassadors Performers Association.
As part of being Edmonton's "Goodwill Ambassadors", the Ambassadors are very proud to have participated in numerous Klondike Days Parades, Canada Day Celebrations, Grey Cup Parades and various other local performances over the years.
Since their inception in 1966, the Ambassadors have gone through several changes over the decades but a few things continue to remain relatively the same; they will always be Edmonton's "Goodwill Ambassadors" and their objective now is to promote colourguard and music as an art and as a recreational activity and to encourage our members to improve their skills, sportsmanship and character. [1]