Next week as Carmel families gather around to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, they’ll see our own marching band marching alongside the giant balloons and other bands from all over the country. Instead of ignoring the random high school bands in the show, CHS students will see familiar faces on the screen, and both band members and directors expect an unforgettable experience from their upcoming trip.

Kathryn Dawson, drum major and senior, said, “I never really dreamed of being in the parade. I thought it would be cool to march (in the parade), but I never thought it would actually happen. But now, here we are. Going this year. It’s awesome.”

Dawson shares her excitement for the trip with the other band and color guard members going. According to Andy Cook, associate director of bands, all except for a few of the members will board charter buses on Monday after school on their way to New York City. This adds up to over 400 people, including directors and chaperones.

Sarah Yoakum, color guard member and sophomore, said she looks forward to seeing “Wicked” and touring the city. Paige Roberts, color guard member and junior, said she can’t wait to actually be at Macy’s. They both said it will be fun to spend time with their friends and not have to worry about anything else.

“I think (the students) are pumped about everything.  A lot of the kids haven’t been (to New York City), so it’s going to be pretty exciting,” Cook said, “They say there’s probably three million people that are just along the parade route, you know up in the skyscrapers and along the route, and then you have 15 to 20 million more watching it on T.V. Just walking down New York and playing. Just all the excitement, and all the balloons. I think it’s going to be great for all of us, the kids especially.”

But despite the excitement, the journey to the parade has been hard work. According to Dawson, the biggest challenge was to learn their parade routine in addition to their competition show. The band had new music to memorize and new routines to learn.

Cook said the band has handled the extra responsibility really well. “I think they’re doing great. The fall competition show’

s been great, you know, we’ve been first or second in every show, and it’s a little more pressure on (the students) to get everything memorized, but other than that, they’ve been doing great.”

Cook said the band has learned two sets of music because for the parade they want to play more upbeat, well-known songs such as “Stars and Stripes Forever” and “Any Way You Want It” by Journey. He said for the televised portion of the show, the band will play a version of  “Back Home Again in Indiana” because the organizers of the parade recommend that bands play something about where they’re from.

In addition to learning new songs, the band members have been fundraising at all times this past year to pay for the upcoming trip.

“It’s right around $1,500 (per student),” Cook said, “If they went without a penny on them, they would have all their meals paid for and everything. The only thing they wouldn’t get are souvenirs.”

It may seem like a challenge to raise enough money, but Dawson and the guard members said that fundraising has been very effective this year.

“I don’t know why (fundraising) was more successful this year, probably our parents are just freaking awesome. But the kids are working hard; they know what needs to get done,” Dawson said.

According to Cook, the band has had more time to raise money because he and the other directors originally applied for last year’s parade. They decided to apply two years ago and began submitting DVDs and letters of recommendation from other band directors. He said although they had to wait a year, it was good to have more time to plan and fundraise for this year.

The band also has the responsibility of representing the school while in New York, but Dawson said she’s not worried about the band’s behavior. She said that although there are high expectations, if they carry themselves the way they usually do then everything should be fine.

Roberts said, “We got a letter from the school telling us to make good choices and stuff. Even though they have to send it, I thought it was kind of funny because we know what to do and what not to do.”

According to Yoakum, she’s more concerned about early morning practice than her conduct. “We have to get up really early at like 2 a.m. on the day of the parade to practice right before. We need to have time to practice and time to line up for the show before it actually starts,” Yoakum said. She said despite the early day, the experience will be worth it.

Because of the overall eagerness for the trip, Cook said that the band might return to the parade in a few years. He said, “I would definitely think we would (return). It’s very positive; I went to a meeting a few weeks ago in New York, and they treat the kids really well. The bands are a pretty important part of the parade, so it’s a pretty positive experience.”

According to Cook, none of the high school bands in march every year. He said that although some return, it’s not usually successive years. If the Carmel band returns, it will have to wait a few years.

Dawson said she’s glad to have this experience, even if it  is one time. As a final request to her fellow students, she said, “Watch it. Watch Macy’s. That’s it. If (students) watch, they’ll see why we practice so much. They’ll see how much fun it is to watch their peers work hard and represent our school.”