The Trail Maple Leaf Band is an important member of the Performing Arts in Trail, Castlegar and neighbouring communities. It is part of the exciting history of the West Kootenay region, a history that has brought people from many corners of the world to build the railways and dams and work the mines and smelters. Italian immigrants arrived in this part of the Columbia Valley in the early 1900s and brought with them a love of music. From this came the beginnings of the Maple Leaf Band in 1917. The group has endured and grown to include men and women, students and seniors, with a wide variety of backgrounds and musical skill levels. The 30 to 40 members come from approximately a 40 km radius helping to draw together the towns of Trail, Castlegar, Rossland, Fruitvale, Montrose and Warfield.